02/02/2011

The closing months of last year saw grain and bean growing regions the world over devastated by extreme weather. From September in Australia, after years of drought, La Nina and cyclone Tasha hit the North-eastern state of Queensland, sparking flooding over an area larger than Texas and disrupting harvest season, contributing to the spiralling price of wheat. Droughts and industrial action in Latin America also affected soy bean production.

The pattern of  unpredictable weather conditions disrupting agriculture does not look set to relent this year; North Korea, The Eastern USA and Australia’s flood ravaged North East are all in the grip of severe weather.

Grain, livestock and wheat industries pummelled in US

Movement of livestock has been paralysed in the USA after blizzards and freezing rain have struck the Mid-west. The winter storm is expected to affect up to a third of the USA’s population after meteorologists announced Tuesday (2^nd Feb) that the worst is yet to come.

Affected areas are expected to suffer a deep freeze until the weekend, with daytime temperatures below freezing and "really dangerous wind chills," according to National Weather Service spokesperson Pat Slattery. The worst affected areas, the US’ farm states, are forecast up to 60cm of snow, which is expected to disrupt livestock and grain operations and wreak havoc on winter wheat crops.

Two of Cargill’s pork processing plants in the Mid-west have announced a slow-down in anticipation of the storm. Elsewhere, ranchers have been rushing to get their animals to areas with wind breaks and to provide hay and areas where they can access water. There are also fears that the subzero temperatures could cause winterkill in winter wheat, which was sown last autumn.

Freezing temperatures in North Korea

In North Korea, where temperatures have remained below zero for more than forty consecutive days, there are fears for food production. Farmers have expressed worries that the cold snap will affect their grain production.

North Korea has relied on outside assistance to feed many of its 24 million people since a famine is believed to have killed as many as two million in the 1990s.

Category five cyclone to hit flood-ravaged Queensland

Australia is once again facing down a devastating storm. Cyclone Yasi, which is on course for Queensland, was upgraded to a category five storm last night, the most severe level. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has warned that the cyclone poses an "extremely serious threat to life and property within the warning area, especially between Cairns and Townsville,” the BoM has also advised that, "This impact is likely to be more life threatening that any experienced during recent generations”.

The storm is forecast to make landfall later tonight, having changed course to narrowly avoid those areas that were worst hit by recent flooding. The cyclone now looks likely to plough through the densely populated area around Cairns, where the Australian Army and air force are evacuating patients from hospitals.  

Analysts have predicted the cyclone could wipe out a third of Queensland's sugar cane crop, which accounts for 90% of the country’s total output of raw sugar. In 2006 Cyclone Larry also hit Queensland; the cyclone caused an 8% drop in national sugar output and left thousands homeless. There are fears that the banana crop could be affected, after Cyclone Larry destroyed 80% of the national crop five years ago.

Queensland is also home to almost half of Australia's cattle, although as yet Yasi is not expected to pass directly over cattle regions. However, the National Farmers Federation estimated today that the cyclone could affect a fifth of Queensland's AU$3.3bn herd if it hits prime grazing areas.The beleaguered National Farmers Federation has predicted that "Losses will likely be catastrophic again”.

Winds associated with Cyclone Yasi affect an area more than 2,000km across - large enough to stretch between London and St Petersburg.