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Dry Farming Grows in West; Alltech, Kentucky State Form Sustainable Agriculture Alliance
September 3, 2013 Drought conditions and hot summer months are pushing many California farmers toward dry farming — and producing more flavorful produce , NPR reports. Happy Boy Farms sales director Jen Lynne says chefs and wholesalers from around the US are increasingly placing orders for the company’s dry-farmed tomatoes, grown near Santa Cruz. She tells NPR that she could sell hundreds of 14-pound cases a day if her 10-acre tomato field could meet the demand. Lynne says dry farming will become a vital sustainable agriculture practice as water becomes less abundant in the future. Whole Foods Market in Sebastopol says customers want dry-farmed tomatoes, NPR reports. However, according to Northern California farmer Stan Devoto, turning off the water does reduce yields. His dry-farmed trees produce 12 to 15 tons of apples per acre per year compared to his irrigated trees, which produce 40 to 50 tons, NPR says. Sonoma Valley winery Old Hill Ranch says dry farming wine grapes produces only slightly lower harvest yields. Winemaker Will Bucklin tells NPR that the grapes are smaller, which means a lower juice-to-skin ratio. Meanwhile, farmers in the Texas Panhandle, squeezed for water by a three-year drought and a declining Ogallalla Aquifer, are experimenting with planting corn without watering the ground first. They are planting later in the season so they can tap the summer rain and switching to pivot sprinklers for more efficient, affordable watering. In other farming news, Nicholasville, Ky.-based animal nutrition company Alltech and Kentucky State University have formed a joint research alliance to develop sustainable farming techniques and modern farming models. Alltech will invest $75,000 per year toward research at KSU and will also provide support for KSU graduate students’ research and for demonstrations in agriculture, food sciences, sustainable systems and related fields. Alltech chief scientific officer Dr. Karl Dawson says the farming alliance aims to position Central Kentucky at the forefront of sustainable agriculture and aquaculture and will have global implications. The Alltech-KSU Sustainable Farming Alliance will operate from the KSU campus and has been established for an initial period of three years. Environmental hazards such as climate change and water scarcity could wipe out as much as $8 trillion in agriculture assets each year, according to a study published last month by the University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. Photo Credit: Happy Boy Farms Continue reading
€603m Invested In First Six Months In Overseas Frenzy
Findlater House, O’Connell Street, Dublin, was sold for €6.1m An extraordinary six-month Irish asset-feeding frenzy by overseas firms has meant that there have been 34 investment transactions of more than €1m each completed here since January compared with a total of 35 for all of 2012. The report also highlights a trickle-down effect in the ongoing investment drive. It asserts that the number of prime property investments on offer has now reduced to the level that buyers eager to cash in on perceived Irish value are now moving down the value chain to look at secondary level opportunities. But investments are spread unevenly with 40pc of the money spent since January going into offices, the strongest commercial sector by far compared to 20pc for mixed investments, just 14pc for a still sluggish retail sector and a measly 1pc for industrial property. It also added that autumn looked like becoming “particularly busy” as investors scramble to avail of the capital gains tax waiver that runs out on December 31. Continue reading
‘Staggering growth’ In Farmland Prices
Fri 23 Aug 2013 The cost of Welsh farmland rose to £7,250 per acre in the first six months of this year Credit: Frank May/PA The cost of Welsh farmland rose to £7,250 per acre across the country in the first six months of 2013, says the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The latest RICS Rural Land Market Survey found that the growth was driven by the ongoing surge in demand from both farmers and investors. Ben Collins, RICS Wales director, said: “The growth in farmland prices in recent times has been nothing short of staggering. In less than 10 years we’ve seen the cost of a square acre of farmland grown to such an extent that investors – not just farmers – are entering the market. “And, if commodity prices continue to increase and keep demand high, we could see this trend continuing, with cost per acre going through the £10,000 barrier within the next two to three years.” David Powell, of Powells, Monmouth, said: “There is continued demand for good, well located blocks of good land close to farming base of purchasers. Good grazing/mowing land and arable land selling well and at premium values where local demand is strong.” Continue reading
