Agriculture, Irrigation, Farming News: September 2015 Round-up

September has slowed down a bit after summer’s frantic pace. But that doesn’t mean there’s any lack of agriculture news. Here are the top stories from September to keep you up to date on all the recent events:

• Will Cutting US Food Waste Affect Market Prices? Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, announced a new initiative to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030. But with today’s world population growing so quickly, the increased international demand should more than make up for the reduced domestic demand caused by the reduced waste. In fact, by exporting more food to the international community, there’s a new opportunity for growth in our economy.

• Field Estimates Fall. The USDA estimated mid-September that the corn harvest was beginning to slow below the average while soybeans saw a downgrade in quality from 63% to 61% for the legume’s good/excellent rating. Winter wheat plantings were estimated at 9% complete as we continue into cooler temperatures.

• New Combined Study Shows Loss of Crop Diversity. A cooperative study between the USDA, Kansas State University and North Dakota State University found a decline in overall crop diversity over the past 34 years. This change could prove problematic to today’s crop farmer as the reduced crop diversity could lead to a less resilient planting as climate change continues to wreak havoc over the country, leading to much larger changes in weather from one region to the next.

• Avian Flu Vaccine Conditionally Approved, Not Available for Sale. Following the disastrous avian flu epidemics that swept through poultry barns across the country this year, demand for a flu vaccine has skyrocketed as farmers have lost their flocks and their income. Developed by Harrisvaccines, it has been conditionally approved for use in outbreaks, emergencies or similar situations. The vaccine is a variety that is easily adaptable to other strains of Avian Flu, a boon when the fall migratory movement of wild birds makes the chances of the disease spreading from a wild bird to an enclosed poultry population much higher, as was seen in the spring outbreak that claimed over 48 million birds. In the meantime, the USDA is stockpiling up to 500 million vaccine doses treating a wide range of flu variants.

• Asian Fruit Flies Create Florida Farming Emergency. A state of emergency was declared when a southern Florida Asian Fruit Fly outbreak in Miami and Dade County. A quarantine has also setup, limiting the area to 85 acres, with almost eight tons of infested food was destroyed. The experts pulled out all stops as the invasive insect has been rapidly reproducing in the area.

• DOD and USDA Announce Joint Back to the Land Program for Veterans. As part of the growing operation to reintegrate veterans back into civilian society once they’ve left the service, the DOD and USDA are working together to improve the Transition Assistance Program. With a higher ratio of soldiers to civilians than any other part of the country, adding this service to rural communities and industries improves the range of career paths for veterans.

What does October have in store for the farming community? Check in next month to find out!