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Farmland Values Keep Rising
Published August 06, 2013 Farmland values keep rising GRAND FORKS, N.D. — The 2012 drought that devastated crops and pastures in much of the upper Midwest didn’t stop the price of farmland from shooting higher, especially in North Dakota. By: Jonathan Knutson , Forum News Service GRAND FORKS, N.D. — The 2012 drought that devastated crops and pastures in much of the upper Midwest didn’t stop the price of farmland from shooting higher, especially in North Dakota. The average per-acre price of cropland in 2013 in North Dakota soared to $1,910, a whopping 41.5 percent increase from the previous year, according to an annual report issued Aug. 2 by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nationally, the average per-acre price of cropland rose 13 percent, NASS says. “I think North Dakota had some catching up to do,” says Dwight Aakre, farm management specialist with the North Dakota State University Extension Service in Fargo. Prices for North Dakota cropland had, in past years, risen slower than prices for cropland in many other states, leading to a “catch-up” this year, he notes. He also notes that much of North Dakota enjoyed good yields in 2012, despite the drought. Aakre says that while North Dakota cropland values undoubtedly rose sharply in the past year, he was surprised to see the NASS estimate of a 41.5 percent increase. “That’s a lot. But you don’t argue with USDA. It has the best numbers,” he says. The report is based on a survey of agricultural producers in the first two weeks of June. Most other states in the upper Midwest also saw substantial increases in cropland values in the past year, according to NASS. Cropland values in South Dakota shot to an average of $3,020 per acre, an increase of 30.2 percent. The average value of Minnesota cropland rose to $4,850 per acre, 19.8 percent more than a year earlier. In Montana, the average value of cropland rose 4 percent to $888. The state grows little corn, which experts say has contributed to rising land prices in the upper Midwest. Average cropland values rose sharply in 2013 in the drought-hammered Corn Belt. In Iowa, for instance, the average value of cropland increased 17.8 percent to $8,600 per acre, according to the report. Though drought hurt production, it also caused the price of corn to rise, encouraging farmers to pay more for land, Aakre says. Low interest rates, which reduce the appeal of competing investments such as CDs, also have contributed to rising land prices, though to a lesser extent than high crop prices, he says. Now, however, crop prices are slumping, and buying land is becoming less attractive, he says. “I think land prices have peaked,” Aakre says. Paying more for pasture NASS also found substantial increases in pasture prices. Nationally, the average value of pasture rose 4.3 percent to $1,200 per acre. North Dakota’s average pasture value rose 28.6 percent to $630 per acre. In Minnesota, the average pasture value rose 16.7 percent to $1,750 per acre. South Dakota’s average pasture value rose 20.3 percent to $710 per acre. High crop prices have encouraged some producers to begin raising crops on land that once was pastured. That reduces the supply of pasture and drives up its price, experts say. The average value of Montana pasture rose 1.8 percent to $580. NASS includes Montana in the report’s mountain region, which also consists of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. All the states in the region had small annual increases, or even small decreases, in their average pasture price. Cash rents rise, too In a separate report on Aug. 2, NASS released updated state-level statistics for cash rents. Here are average per-acre cash rents for nonirrigated farmland for 2013. – United States – $125 per acre, up from $115 a year ago. – North Dakota – $64 per acre, up from $57 per acre a year ago. – South Dakota – $104, up from $93 per acre last year. – Minnesota – $177, up from $150 per acre last year. – Montana – $23.50, up from $23 per acre a year ago. Strong crop prices in recent years have helped boost cash rents, Aakre says. – See more at: http://www.prairiebi…h.SMUTWfnp.dpuf Continue reading
Showa Shell to Build 49-Megawatt Biomass Plant in Japan
By Chisaki Watanabe & Yuji Okada – Aug 7, 2013 Showa Shell (5002) Sekiyu K.K., a Japanese refiner, will build a 49-megawatt biomass power plant south of Tokyo in Kanagawa prefecture as it expands it power generation business. The plant, the first biomass project for the company, will be built on the site of the company’s former refinery and will begin operating in December 2015, Tokyo-based Showa Shell said in a statement today. The company will invest about 16 billion yen ($164 million), Minoru Yagyuda, general manager of Showa Shell’s power business division, said today in a briefing. Woody biomass, mainly from North America , and palm kernel shells from Indonesia and Malaysia will be used to power the plant. The location is convenient for ships to deliver fuel and is close to an area of major power use, according to the statement. Kanagawa is part of greater Tokyo in the southern Kanto region of Japan. Showa Shell wholly owns Solar Frontier K.K., a maker of solar panels. To contact the reporters on this story: Chisaki Watanabe in Tokyo at cwatanabe5@bloomberg.net ; Yuji Okada in Tokyo at yokada6@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net Continue reading
Interpol Warns Of Criminal Focus On $176 Billion Carbon Market
Last updated on 6 August 2013, 9:25 am Crime agency says lack of oversight and transparency threaten the environmental integrity of carbon markets How VAT fraud is committed within the European emissions trading scheme (Pic: Europol) By Ed King Carbon trading schemes are at acute risk from criminal gangs and fraud, a new report from Interpol warns. The police agency says uncertain regulations and a lack of oversight and transparency threaten the environmental and financial integrity of the world’s carbon markets, worth an estimated $176 billion. And it says that there is a risk that if financial instruments related to carbon trading become too complex, the world’s carbon markets could spark a financial crisis on par with 2008. The report says law enforcement agencies must be more aware of ‘carbon crimes’, improve communication between countries and impose tighter regulations on transactions and calculations of emissions reductions. “Unlike traditional commodities, which at some time during the course of their market exchange must be physically delivered to someone, carbon credits do not represent a physical commodity but instead have been described as a legal fiction that is poorly understood by many sellers, buyers and traders,” Interpol says. “This lack of understanding makes carbon trading particularly vulnerable to fraud and other illegal activity.” Areas Interpol says criminals seek to exploit include over-claiming for credits, the sale of credits that do not exist, false claims relating to a project’s benefits, money laundering and online credit theft. And it warns that even third party auditors, employed by schemes like the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism to verify projects, may be susceptible to “bribes or collusion” to manipulate the results. “The discrepancy between the objectives of the financial players in the market – to maximize profit – and the overall objective of the Kyoto Protocol – to ensure overall greenhouse gas emissions are reduced – places diverse pressures on the regulation of the market when drawn alongside other typical commodity markets,” says the report. Lucrative takings High profile criminal cases include a 2010 hacking attack on cement maker Holcim, resulting in the theft of 1.6 million credits worth €23.5million, while in 2011 hackers stole two million carbon credits from registries in Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece and Poland. In 2012 three men in the UK were sent to prison after running a £39 million tax fraud related to carbon trading . And earlier this year one of Britain’s most prolific money launderers Ian Macdonald was jailed for eight years for an £18 million carbon credits scam targeting vulnerable UK investors. “It is imperative that the carbon trading markets remain secure from fraud, not just to protect financial investment, but also because the global environment depends upon it,” said Andrew Lauterback, Senior Criminal Enforcement Counsel at the US Environmental Protection Agency. “This criminal activity risks seriously undermining the environmental integrity of the carbon markets globally,” added David Higgins from Interpol’s Environmental Crime Programme. Jamal Gore, Deputy Chair of the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) welcomed Interpol’s drive to raise awareness of criminality in the sector, but told RTCC many of the issues raised in the report had already been resolved. “ICROA’s Code of Practice, the governance mechanisms of the voluntary carbon credit standards and the emergence of professionally managed carbon credit registries together address many if not all of the issues related to the voluntary carbon market that the guide raises,” he said. “The publication of the guide in its current form therefore represents a missed opportunity. By highlighting both the challenges facing the carbon markets and the work already being done to drive best practice, it could have better served its purpose of reducing carbon trading crime. Instead it risks sowing doubt just when we need to redouble our efforts to fight climate change.” Large target New carbon markets are ripe targets for criminal activity, PwC’s Jonathan Grant told RTCC, advising policymakers in China and South Korea to devote more attention to managing fraud risks. He also recommended environment departments charged with implementing new mechanisms ensure they have sufficient experience of regulating financial instruments, citing this as a concern among analysts. Carbon trading is the world’s fastest growing commodities market. In June, China launched the first of seven pilot projects, with an aim of developing a national emissions trading scheme (ETS) by the end of the decade. The UN runs two schemes, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI), which are targeted at improving low carbon investment in the developing world. The EU ETS is worth an estimated $148 billion, the US-based Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) $249 million and New Zealand’s market $351 million. – See more at: http://www.rtcc.org/…h.nEmz9ZzS.dpuf Continue reading
