Latest news with #cropyield
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
French court blocks return of banned pesticide
A top French court struck down an effort to reintroduce an environmentally toxic pesticide on Thursday after over 2 million people signed a petition against the initiative, although some worry the decision will lead to insufficient crop yield.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
How Aussie farmers are turning the tide on $4.43 billion weed problem
Determined Aussie farmers are turning the tide on a pesky problem that is plaguing their crops and costing growers an estimated $4.43 billion every year. From council reserves to backyard gardens, weeds have received a lot of attention in recent years due to their ability to spread rapidly, strangle native plants and harm wildlife. Now, grain and cotton growers across the country are fighting back — and winning. According to a new report released by the CSIRO on Monday night, on average, weeds cost grain producers $4.3 billion a year — a seven per cent increase in costs compared to 10 years ago — but they are reaping the rewards of their investment. Grain producers drastically reduce impact of weeds on crop yield By focusing on 'smarter, long-term management strategies', farmers have been able to drastically reduce the impact of weeds on crop yield from 2.8 million tonnes in 2016 to 1.2 million tonnes in 2025. Their efforts, including harvest weed seed control, crop rotation and using new technologies such as camera-guided herbicide spraying, have led to higher production and therefore a higher income. 'Weed control remains one of the biggest annual costs for growers, but the investment is paying off,' said Dr Rick Llewellyn, a CSIRO research scientist who co-authored the report led by Jackie Ouzman. 'By staying ahead of the weed seed bank, resistance and adopting smarter, more targeted practices, growers are protecting long-term profitability and enabling flexibility in their system.' Improved summer fallow weed control — the removal of weeds that grow when a field is intentionally left uncultivated between cropping seasons — has helped tremendously, CSIRO reports. The method conserves moisture in the soil to better support crops in the drier seasons, and is a 'critical part of climate adaption', Dr Llewellyn said. 'With increasingly variable rainfall and larger cropping programs, growers need to sow crops when conditions are right without delays for weed control,' he said. 🌸 Warning not to touch invasive weed 'growing everywhere' in Aussie suburb 🚙 Alert issued to residents, travellers after dangerous find on side of roads 🌱 Common roadside plant wreaking havoc in Australia: 'Shocking way to die' Cotton industry forks out $145 million annually on weeds The cotton industry is also forking out $145 million annually on weeds, with growers shown to invest heavily in keeping densities exceptionally low, the study, which was funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC), states. While new threats continue to emerge locally, across the country the most costly weeds remain the same: ryegrass, brome grass, sow thistle, wild radish and wild oats. The costliest weeds that emerge between cropping seasons are melons, heliotrope and fleabane. Dr Llewellyn said while Aussie farmers are leading the way for weed management globally, there needs to be continued research into how to 'stay ahead' while also reducing the costs for both industries. 'The only reason we're not seeing widespread yield losses from weeds today is because of years of sustained research and grower innovation,' he said. 'This is a quiet success story, but it's a battle where you can't pause — the weed challenge keeps evolving and demanding new solutions.' To do so, the GRDC is reinvesting in a five-year, $47 million Weed Management Initiative, which will support more than 20 weed research scientists, as well as 12 new PhD student scholarships. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Farmers in northeast Wisconsin optimistic about this season's crop yield
(WFRV) – Farmers across northeast Wisconsin say they are feeling optimistic about this season's crop yield, especially compared to last year. 'We are on pace for a record year,' Brickstead Dairy Farmer Dan Brick said. Annual fundraiser golf outing raises over $15k for Green Bay dog rescue Data from the United States Department of Agriculture showed that 78% of corn thus far in Wisconsin was rated good and or excellent, exceeding last year's numbers, which were 58% on July 15. Last year, farmers had to push back their initial planting date. This time around, Brick said he was able to plant at an ideal time. 'Last year, it was June 12 by the time we got our first seed in the ground, and this year it was the first week in May,' Brick said. 'It was favorable planning conditions when we started.' For corn, after the farmers plant the seed, the soil takes it and nearly 12 hours later, the plants are supposed to grow. This year, the plants mostly grew at the same time because of the ideal weather conditions leading up to it. Colin Van De Loo, a University of Wisconsin-Madison research graduate student, said the conditions for a good plant require a few things. 'We want the soil dry enough, but not too dry to work it into a fine silt texture and then we plant at that optimal time,' Van De Loo said. 'Ideally, it rains the day after planting.' After the crops are planted, they need a perfect combination to survive. 'Kringle For A Cause:' Uncle Mike's releases new kringle to help Texas flood victims 'If we could get full sun and we could get adequate rainfall periodically throughout the year and a dry fall to plant and dry crop to harvest, that is the perfect crop,' County Vision Co-op Agronomist Tim Pagel said. As long as the sun continues to shine and northeast Wisconsin continues to get about one inch of rain weekly, the corn should continue to thrive, local farmers said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘I think we've got set up for a really decent crop,' Ideal weather excites Siouxland farmers during the growing season
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — With the growing season in full swing, farmers are continuing to work hard to ensure a great crop yield this fall, and according to experts, recent weather is setting them up for quality crops. Cooler temperatures and good rainfall have been a blessing for farmers. 'Our crops are actually doing extremely well in this area, Western Plymouth County,' said Randy Kroksh, a Plymouth County farmer. 'We've dealt with some really difficult growing seasons for the past handful of years, and compared to that, things are looking really nice right now,' said Leah Ten Napel, the Northwest Iowa field agronomist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Program. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, portions of Northwest Iowa are abnormally dry, a significant improvement from the moderate to severe drought conditions from early spring. 'So we've been really spaced out with the rainfall, we haven't had crazy warm conditions for long periods of time, so especially critical right now during pollination. Now we have slightly cooler temperatures so that the crops are not stressed during this time,' said Ten Napel. Story continues below Top Story: 185th Air Refueling hosts surprise birthday party for 100-year-old veteran Lights & Sirens: Sioux City woman found guilty of killing grandmother Sports: Ras Vanderloo announces retirement after 14 seasons as head coach of Sioux City East boys basketball Weather: Get the latest weather forecast here 'I mean, the month of June we had over six inches of rain, and right now at this point in July, we're over four inches of rain. Ten inches of rain in six weeks, that's pretty good,' said Kroksh. On top of cool temps and spaced-out rainfall, insects haven't been a problem for farmers so far this year. 'Right now, those pressures are fairly low, but I still really encourage people to be out in scouting because those can pick up at any time, really,' said Ten Napel. 'Had some aphids, of course, in the alfalfa, so we've had to spray after our first cut in Alfalfa, and I'll spray again here for a second cutting. But as far as corn, we'll be doing some scouting for a gray leaf spot, tar. As soybeans, we're looking for some aphids at this point in time and some spider mites and other stuff like that,' said Kroksh. While there's still a couple of months until harvest, Kroksh said he's hopeful for a good yield. 'I think we've got set up for a really decent crop, but there's a lot of things that can happen from now until the first of October, so with God by our side and stuff, you know, a little prayer and stuff we'll kind of keep the diseases and insects and that kind of stuff away and hopefully get a decent crop,' said Kroksh. Randy wants to emphasize that farmers will still need plenty of rain until harvest season for a good yield. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
‘It's a critical time': European farmers struggle through driest spring in a century
When drought descended on Hendrik Jan ten Cate's farm in 2018, slashing his onion yield to just 10% of a regular year, he slogged through days of heavy labour to draw water from canals and pump it to his crops. One day, overworked and anxious to extract as much as he could, Ten Cate fell into the canal and broke his arm. This year, with plants already growing but a severe dearth of rain to nourish young crops, the Dutch farmer is once again watching the weather forecast with worry. 'It's a critical time,' said Ten Cate, who grows potatoes, onions, cereals, carrots and sugar beet on a 100 hectare farm. 'Since April, the crops are in the ground, starting to grow, and now we need water every week.' Farmers across north-western Europe are waiting with bated breath for fresh rains as typically drizzly countries such as the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany suffer through what may be their driest spring in a century. A small respite is expected at the weekend but is unlikely to provide lasting relief. 'We farmers are resilient … but dry spells are always stressful,' said Sven Borchert, who runs a 1,700 hectare cereal and vegetable farm in Saxony-Anhalt and is the vice-president of the regional farmer's association. Borchert said his farm, which sits in the dry shadows of Germany's Harz mountains, benefited from good soil that held water well, but had seen half the rain it should have this year. He said he expected to get through the month without problems but worried rainfall in June would arrive too late for many other farms. 'There are questions, such as how you'll pay back the bank, that does keep you up at night,' he said. Extreme weather costs the EU about €28.3bn in lost crops and livestock per year, according to a analysis by insurance firm Howden, equal to about 6% of its total food production. More than half the losses stem from drought, according to an analysis of four major weather threats that was commissioned for the European Investment Bank (EIB) as part of the European Commission's push to quell anger among farmers last year. It found just 20-30% of the losses were insured. 'Climate-related risks are an increasing source of uncertainty for food production,' said Gelsomina Vigliotti, vice-president of the EIB. 'Mitigating these risks through insurance and de-risking mechanisms is essential to support the investments of European farmers.' Fossil fuel pollution is expected to worsen drought conditions in parts of Europe, with the Mediterranean rapidly drying up while other regions experience mixed changes. Despite some benefits to farms in northern Europe, the combination of heat and drought is projected to result in 'substantive agricultural production losses' for most European areas this century, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded in a landmark review of climate science research in 2022. Ten Cate, who sits on the board of an agricultural association in the southern Netherlands, said farmers in the region were already witnessing greater weather extremes. 'The heavy rainfall is heavier and the dry period is longer, drier and more extreme,' he said. 'We also see the temperature getting higher … and the plants getting stressed.' Farmers say they are exploring ways to adapt to drought that range from increasing the organic content of their soil and planting more drought-resistant varieties of crops to investing in large-scale rainwater storage, precision farming and drip irrigation. Ten Cate said local farmers had responded to the 2018 drought by investing in mechanical tools to extract water from irrigation channels and distribute it over their fields. In the short term, though, farmers across Europe see little choice but to wait for more rain. Almost a third of the continent was under orange drought warnings by the end of April, according to the European Drought Observatory, with 0.7% in the critical red alert stage. Peter Boysen, an organic farmer in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, said the grass on his farm had not yet dried out but was barely growing. He estimated he had only enough animal feed to last a couple more weeks. 'It's hard to gauge what economic consequences this will have,' he said. 'If rain comes soon, perhaps we'll see losses of 20-30%. If no rain comes, it will of course be much worse.'
