Latest news with #Kaler
Indian Express
01-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
This Sangrur farmer rests his fields for 4 months yet earns Rs 70L profit annually
In a quiet village of Raidharana in Lehragaga tehsil of Sangrur district — a region infamous for its high farmer suicide rate — 36-year-old Mani Kaler is rewriting the narrative of despair into one of hope and prosperity. Despite leaving more than half of his 24-acre farm fallow for four months each year to rejuvenate the soil, Kaler earns an impressive profit of around Rs 70 lakh annually depending on the market after covering all input and labour costs. His farm is not just a source of personal income, but also a significant contributor to rural employment — around 100 labourers are engaged for eight months of the year, while 15 workers are employed full-time throughout the year. Kaler's farming journey began in 2013, when he was just 24. He decided to move away from his family's practice of leasing out land and not cultivating it by themelves. He started by cultivating 2.5 acres for flower seed production under contract with a private company. Encouraged by early results, he expanded to vegetable farming on 5 acres, and by 2018 had established nursery cultivation on 10 acres. By 2024, he had reclaimed all 24 acres and converted the entire holding into a model of diversified and profitable farming. Today, 14 of Mani Kaler's 24 acres are dedicated exclusively to growing vegetable nurseries — covering a wide range of both summer and winter crops, including cauliflower, tomato, capsicum (in all colors), chillies, onions, multiple brinjal varieties and types of flowers. The nursery cycle runs from August to March, during which Kaler raises multiple rounds of saplings on every single acre. Owing to the rotation, he cultivates the equivalent of 3–4 acres from just a single acre over a season, as most nurseries are ready for sale within 30 to 40 days. 'After each batch is sold, the land is replanted to grow new nursery stock,' Kaler explains, adding 'I begin sowing cauliflower and onion nursery crops in August, and this continues till December end. These fields are typically vacated by January end or early February. The same process applies to other vegetable nurseries. I then allow the nursery fields to rest from April to July — a practice I believe is essential for maintaining long-term soil health and sustainability.' The remaining 10 acres are devoted to a well-planned mix of high-value crops: 2 acres under turmeric, 1 acre for strawberries, 2 acres for onions, and 5 acres for seed production of onion and cauliflower. After harvesting the seed crop, this 5-acre block is rotated with Basmati rice from July to October. Kaler, who runs his venture under the name 'Mani Farm77', sells his nursery saplings directly from an outlet on his farm to farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. 'I don't take my produce to the market — the market comes to me,' he says. In addition to vegetables and nursery plants, he also grows seasonal fruits such as watermelon and muskmelon on around couple of acres, and has planted a variety of fruit trees on some portion of his farm land. 'From nursery sowing I earn about Rs 3 lakh per acre per batch after all expenses and if I take more than one batch of nursery from the same fields during the eight-month nursery sowing then it can be multiplied accordingly,' says Kaler, adding that beyond the nursery fields, he also earns around Rs 2.5 lakh per acre annually from his other crops, including onion crop, onion and cauliflower seed production, Basmati rice, and other seasonal crops. 'I have a sanctioned crop loan limit from the bank, but I rarely need to use it. If I build a new structure or facility, I may use it briefly — and repay it within months.' Kaler's scientific and forward-thinking approach to farming includes regularly attending training sessions at Punjab Agricultural University. His efforts and innovations in sustainable farming were recently recognized with the Chief Minister's Award presented to him in March 2025. 'My focus is on continuous improvement — from expanding the nursery to developing my own marketing channels. I believe land should not only be cultivated but also cared for,' he says, adding 'When I take multiple nursery batches from the same fields, it becomes essential to let the soil rest for 4–5 months a year to rejuvenate. I've seen firsthand how this improves both productivity and soil health.'
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Are political tensions impacting Canadian tourism in WNY?
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Tourist agencies in Western New York are sounding the alarm, saying that tourism from our northern neighbors is significantly down so far this year following political strain between the two countries. Patrick Kaler, president and CEO of Visit Buffalo Niagara, said typically 35% to 45% of tourists in the area come from Canada — adding that the recent strain between the U.S and Canada might be to blame for these lower numbers. 'The cross-border numbers for the month of February were down 14.4% over February 2025 compared to February of 2024. Very concerning to us,' said Kaler. Destination Niagara USA shared similar numbers. President and CEO John Percy said hotel occupancy in the Niagara Falls area is down 11% compared to this time last year. 'I don't think that is necessarily due to the president's actions that took place after his inauguration,' said Percy. 'I think a lot of ours, unfortunately, was due to the weather. The cold temperatures and the snow, etc., really played a role into our numbers.' Both Percy and Kaler, when talking to other industry partners — like hotels, attractions and more — said they all have noticed a drop in the volume of Canadian visitors. Statistically, Kaler said travel decreased by over 14% from January to February. Due to this strain on relationships, Visit Buffalo Niagara has paused its advertising efforts in Canada and is now targeting other markets. 'We are going to some new destinations where we've never advertised before,' said Kaler. 'Through our research, we know that they come to Buffalo and they spend a lot of time, and they do spend a lot of money. So we're starting to go to Detroit, Boston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia.' For Percy, Canada isn't an international border — it's another neighborhood for the region, one that plays a big role. 'When we lose business for Canada, we lose business from international countries,' said Percy. 'That affects sales tax in various communities and that will affect fire and safety and police force and everything else. Our sales taxes in a lot of communities, people don't realize are paid for by tourism.' Kaler added that lingering effects from the pandemic, an unfavorable exchange rate and newly imposed tariffs are also to blame for the drop in border crossings. Percy said that drops in tourism happened after 9/11, the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic — all events the region bounced back from. 'Fortunately, this is something that was manufactured by people, not a natural crisis or a downturn in economy,' said Percy. 'We are resilient in Niagara Falls. Travel is resilient to the ebbs and flows of our world.' Percy, also a member of the U.S Travel Association Board of Directors, will be in Washington this week to talk to leaders on Capitol Hill about this, making sure international relations remain strong. Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinions differ on proposed Buffalo hotel occupancy tax
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — As the race to become Buffalo's mayor heats up, a top-of-mind topic is Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon's proposal for a hotel bed tax. At his State of the City Address last week, Scanlon said many hotel owners he spoke with support the idea — but not everyone agrees. WIVB News 4 sat down with Patrick Kaler, president and CEO of Visit Buffalo Niagara. Kaler said he heard speculation about the hotel bed tax idea, but did not officially get word of it from Scanlon until his address. 'We wouldn't be in this place possibly if we were able to have these conversations before,' said Kaler. 'We wouldn't have this tug of war between City Hall and our tourism industry.' Scanlon is looking to instill the proposed tax in order to bring money back into the Queen City. Scanlon said Buffalo has infrastructure that tourists utilize when they visit, such as the Buffalo Zoo and Shea's Performing Arts Center, but that they shouldn't be able to do so for free. Kaler feels differently, saying tourists pay enough by eating at local restaurants and shopping in Western New York malls. 'To have that kind of attitude doesn't necessarily fly with me,' said Kaler. 'I feel like our visitors are already paying their fair share when they come to our destination.' Erie County already has a 13.75% hotel bed tax, which would bring the total to 16.75% if this passes. Kaler said that would put Buffalo on an equal playing field with San Francisco. He believes it would make bringing people into Buffalo a real challenge. 'Meeting planners and sports rights holders when they're looking at a city and a destination to bring their place of business, those are the types of things that they look at,' Kaler said. 'Once this goes out, and if it would pass, it will be a story for the trade publications.' Kaler said as a Buffalo resident, he has concerns about the city facing a budget shortfall of around $50 million. But he said this tax will not generate a number even close enough to fill that gap. 'It will generate maybe $2 million,' Kaler said. 'Do you really want to put the city's reputation in jeopardy for that? Are there other ways to generate $2 million?' Kaler said that since the State of the City Address he has had conversations with Scanlon about what this could mean for the state of tourism in Western New York. Kaler hopes those conversations continue in the future. Trina Catterson joined the News 4 team in 2024. She previously worked at WETM-TV in Elmira, a sister station of WIVB. See more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
