Latest news with #agriculturaldamage
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
Weather tracker: Typhoon Podul pounds southern Taiwan
Typhoon Podul crossed southern Taiwan on Wednesday with wind speeds of up to 110mph (177km/h), equivalent to a category 2 hurricane. Podul had developed a week earlier, near the Northern Mariana Islands, and tracked west across the Philippine Sea, achieving typhoon status on Tuesday before making landfall in south-east Taiwan the following day. Podul whipped up high waves along the east coast, where a man died after being swept away while fishing. As the storm travelled overland, it dumped large amounts of rain across the south of the island, with 440mm recorded in parts of Pingtung County, causing widespread flooding and agricultural damage. Schools, offices and businesses closed as the storm approached, with more than 7,000 people evacuated from their homes, mainly in mountainous regions, amid fears of flash flooding and landslides. Almost 300,000 homes lost power, shipping routes were suspended, and about 400 flights were cancelled, including domestic trips. Podul then veered north-east across the Taiwan strait and weakened slightly to a severe tropical storm, before making landfall once again in Fujian province, China, in the early hours of Thursday. Despite weaker winds, Podul lashed south-east China with similarly torrential rain – Macau on the south coast recorded 110mm in an hour. Cape Verde experienced similar downpours on Monday after Tropical Storm Erin developed nearby, causing flash flooding on the north-west islands of Santo Antão and São Vicente. São Vicente received 193mm of rain within five hours, more than 150% of the yearly average. At least nine deaths have been reported, with several people missing and about 1,500 displaced. Erin will pass to the north of the Caribbean over the weekend, and is expected to achieved hurricane status. Meanwhile, as a heatwave grips the Middle East, the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley have particularly suffered in recent days. The region is susceptible to high temperatures because of its low altitude – it is several hundred metres below sea level in places – and temperatures locally approached 50C (122F) on Wednesday. Unusually high humidity – about 80% at times – has contributed to sweltering temperatures. As humid air cools more slowly than drier air, overnight cooling has been limited, leading Israel to record its highest overnight minimum on Wednesday, where it reached 38C near Mount Sodom. Temperature records were also set in southern and western Europe this week as yet another heatwave swept the continent. Alongside myriad date records, several all-time peaks were hit in southern France on Sunday and Monday, including in the department of Aude (43.4C) and the cities of Angoulême, Bergerac and Bordeaux (42.1C, 42.1C and 41.6C respectively). Also on Monday, it reached record highs in the Croatian cities of Šibenik (39.5C) and Dubrovnik (38.9C).
ABC News
7 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Feral pig cull reduces pest numbers in WA's Northern Agricultural Region
A six-month cull has removed a "surprisingly large" number of feral pigs from Western Australia's Midwest landscape. WARNING: This article contains an image some readers might find distressing. Experts say the record results demonstrate how quickly the declared pests can spread. Feral pigs are estimated to cause $156 million of damage to Australian agricultural production each year, and can carry diseases and damage the environment. On-ground shooters and aerial pest controllers working from helicopters trapped, baited or shot 11,800 pigs across a 550,000-hectare land area near Geraldton, known as the Northern Agricultural Region (NAR), as part of the cull. The region is a known hotspot for the pest, but the number of pigs removed has shocked organisers and farmers. National feral pig management coordinator Heather Channon said a series of favourable seasons had allowed pigs to breed in large numbers in some parts of Australia, such as the NAR, and it was difficult to estimate their population or geographical spread. "It's a tremendous amount of pigs that have come out, one of the bigger numbers that I've seen in that region, but it doesn't mean that we've got them all," she said. "That's where we have to be really careful. While we've got a big number, we don't know what the starting number was." Pigs can have at least two litters every 12 months, and litters can range between four and 12 piglets, a breeding efficiency Dr Channon said "allows the problem to quickly exacerbate". She said that with feral pig populations expanding across Australia, landowners often did not know if pigs were present. "It's been estimated that around 45 per cent of Australia's land mass is affected by feral pigs. They're resilient and adaptive animals able to live in dry conditions and in mountains." Dr Channon said pigs were "clever" adversaries as they quickly learnt how to avoid control attempts. Managing feral pigs has been an ongoing and costly battle for grain and livestock farmer Scott Bridgeman, who farms near Northampton, 50 kilometres north of Geraldton. He said pigs reduced crop yields, either by running their nose along furrows to eat seeds after they had been sown, or by eating mature grain crops before harvest. "It's quite distressing when you come back there and there's no plants, then the country blows away," he said. "They're a real pest." Mr Bridgeman said the pigs nested in flowering canola, flattening the plants and eating canola flowers before moving on to eat wheat when it was ripe. He said some farmers had begun building exclusion fences to keep out the large numbers of kangaroos and pigs moving from bushland into crops. "You're probably looking at $6,000 to $8,000 a kilometre [to build fencing] ... but when you have a high pest burden, it's definitely worth it," he said. Mr Bridgeman said pigs were shot on his property this year, but they were an ongoing challenge. Clare Engelke, who coordinates the biosecurity group responsible for feral pig control in the NAR, said most pigs were removed by aerial shooters. She said it was the most effective way to humanely remove large numbers, but continuous on-ground control by landholders was essential to prevent the population exploding again. "We knew there were lots of pigs, but the number surprised us, and they were in areas we didn't expect them at all," she said. "It's not just about protecting livelihoods and crop production, it's about the environment in terms of water quality and protecting remnant vegetation. "They impact native species and biodiversity ... it's a bigger problem than crop protection." Dr Engelke said the Northern Biosecurity Group could help landowners with feral pig control, and she encouraged people to join the free service.
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Camrose County seeks data on agricultural damage from Richardson's ground squirrels
Camrose County is gathering data on infestations of Richardson's ground squirrels, colloquially called gophers, which have been tearing up agricultural land. The county wants data from farmers on damages and economic impacts from squirrel infestations. It intends to draft a report using the data to present to the federal government, for help controlling the ground squirrel population. Alberta's Agricultural Service Board has noted an increase in Richardson's ground squirrel population, but has also acknowledged that little research has been done on where in the province they are problematic or best practices for population management. Humphrey Banack, who owns a farm in the county about 80 kilometres southeast of Edmonton, said he has experienced reported significant losses "They're voracious eaters. You know, they grow from the size of a small mouse to a rat in two months," he said. So far, he's estimated that damages on his farm caused by the squirrels have reached around $20,000, across nearly 20 acres of destroyed crops. Banack said he has considered ripping up the land where the rodents have burrowed, to start anew. "Those costs are higher than our grain crop cost because we're going to pull some drills over and seed next year. There's not a bunch we have to do to manage their infested area in grain crops," he said. "The best control we can have is shooting them or lead poisoning." Strychnine ban Farmers had traditionally used toxic substances like strychnine or anticoagulants to control pests on their land. The federal government started to phase out the use of strychnine in 2020, and outright banned the substance by 2024. Health Canada found that strychnine uses did not meet the requirements for protection of the environment. WATCH | Alberta urges feds to reinstate strychnine use: Camrose County's survey to farmers states "this is an important chance to make sure Camrose County producers are heard at the federal level — especially following the ban on strychnine in 2023." In a letter released in June, the Alberta government criticized the strychnine ban, stating that "the annual risk to hay and native pasture [due to damage caused by ground squirrels] exceeds $800 million." The letter calls for the government to reinstate the use of the pesticide. For wildlife biologist Gilbert Proulx, toxic substances like strychnine aren't all they're cracked up to be, when it comes to Richardson's ground squirrel. Proulx, who is also the director of science at Alpha Wildlife, said these substances don't do much to decrease the population of Richardson's ground squirrels. "It happens only when there's no more food to eat, and then the squirrel will eat the grains of strychnine," he said. "But most squirrels will recognize they're feeding on something that is not that healthy, so a lot of them will stop." He said in order to control the ground squirrel population, farmers need to eliminate at least 75 per cent of the population on or around their land. Pesticides like strychnine also pose a threat to the predators of ground squirrels. "They get killed by their predators and their predators die of secondary poisoning," Proulx said. Proulx said need farmers need to be implementing year-round maintenance measures. "The best is to maintain your fields that are at a proper level of vegetation. Encourage the predators to stay in your fields with rock piles so that they … can establish themselves. Those predators will do quite a dent in the population," he said "It's no use to panic and put poison everywhere and kill the wrong species." Banack said there is a risk of farmers and producers incorrectly using the pesticides. But, he said, when used properly, the substances could save farmers land and money. "The vast majority of producers do understand that there are risks to using more potent stuff, but those risks can be very, very well managed from our end."
