Ill wind blows for US farmers who face 'rusted' crops

[emad]

The Times
By James Doran
Our correspondent reports on the threat to soybean plants from an Asian fungus that has arrived in the US



THERE was an unwelcome guest at many American farmers’ tables this Thanksgiving, and it wasn’t interested in the turkey. Asian soybean rust, one of the most destructive plant fungi on earth, has been discovered in America for the first time, threatening the livelihoods of as many as 600,000 US farmers.

If the rust takes hold and spreads further across America it is not just the farmers who will suffer. Consumer prices will doubtless soar, as soy flour, soy oil and many other derivatives of the humble bean are a vital ingredient in food for both human and animal consumption.

Britain’s food prices are threatened too. The United States is such a large producer of soybeans and soybean-based products that a reduction in the crop could have a knock-on effect around the world.

Soybean rust, or Phakopsora pachyrhizi, to give its proper name, has been around in Asia since about 1900.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,175-1377010,00.html

[Deja Q]

1. Another sign of doom. Yippie.

Has anybody ever bothered to find a pesticide, or was it irrelevant because it never touched United States' soil.

Until now?

[MatrixEscape]

2. Simple ...

Just spray the crops with some WD-40! That's a freeper fix for anything rusty.

[jmcgowanjm]

3. Watch Brazil

This is the second report of soybean rust in Brazil in the
current crop year. The disease is caused by _
Phakopsora pachyrhizi_, a major pathogen of soybean. It
is present in tropical areas in the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres, where it can cause severe crop
losses (10-100 percent). Of concern to soybean producers
in North America is dispersal of rust spores by winds from
South America to soybean production areas in the United
States and possibly Canada. Of the reported outbreaks,
the majority occur in Africa (Nigeria, Uganda, and
Zimbabwe). - Mod.DH

http://laurel.nal.usda.gov:8080/agnic/pmp/2003/srb041503.html

[bemildred]

4. Comments:

1.) This is why monocropping sucks.
2.) "Threatens the livelihoods of agribusiness" is more like it.
There are damn few "small farmers" left, and those few are not
monocropping soybeans to keep the farm going.

[cliss]

6. Also, I've read that at this time,

80% of all soybeans grown today are GM = genetically modified. My armchair theory: I believe genetically modified plants become weak. They are fragile, like a hothouse orchid. They're not hardy like some roadside weed.

As the plant becomes weakened, it becomes susceptible to a host of diseases & pests.

There's also speculation that we could lose up to 80% of this year's crop. This would have a devastating effect on the soybean crop. I checked soybean futures in the business section of the paper, and it's gone up +4.00.

[bemildred]

7. Soybean futures, Hmmmm ....

WRT the other issue, it's hard to say. GM is primitive technology,
as is our understanding of how the genetic systems of organisms work,
and genetic resistance is a very complex and dynamic thing. It's
unlikely that GM makes for more resistant organisms. But leaving GM
completely out of it, if you provide a big, convenient food supply,
sooner or later something will come along and eat most of it (unless
it's McDonalds french fries, which no self-respecting microbe will
touch). This has been true since agriculture began.

[amazona]

9. yes, if you use soy in U.S. you're using GM

I think it is sad how much of the U.S. and Brazilian landscape have been given over to agricultural desert to raise this crop. And a lot of people are still brainwashed to believe that this cheap animal feed is a healthy food for humans. So they get to destroy the planet and waste their money while they're at it. I realize we do need to raise some soy for lifestock but the whole soy craze has gotten totally out of hand. It is just distressing to look at the land where it grows. But, yeah, it's genetically modified to be "Roundup Ready" so it will be resistant to this herbicide.

[amandabeech]

16. What would you consider to be a small farm? n/t

[bemildred]

17. Why do you ask?

Something on the order of a "family farm", but the issue gets
muddy these days. Genuine "family farms" tend to be uneconomic
these days, although there are some people doing well in organic
farming.

[jwirr]

5. I do not feel sorry for the farmers.

I feel sorry for the people who will pay more for groceries because of this. I grew up around the repug farmers of Iowa and they vote repug because they do not want government interferring in their business. Well now they ought to live by their words and if anything is done it ought to be for the consumers of food - not the farmer. They voted for this method of government let them live with it.

[calimary]

8. And this affects the red states, 'eh?

I could say a mouthful, but perhaps karma can enunciate better.

Maybe they should start praying to jesus w. bush?

Sorry. Mighty cold. But well-deserved.

[acmavm]

10. They vote for republicans but didn't hesitate for a minute to take

money from the promoters and performers are the the Farm Aid concerts. They also get subsidies from the government in a lot of cases.

I've lived around farmers my whole life. Yes, they feed us. No, they don't make the profit margins that the processors of beef, pork, wheat, soy beans, etc., make. But they continue to vote for the jackasses the ensure that the situation stays that way.

[murielm99]

11. Democratic farmer checking in here,

from the blue state of Illinois.

I also have many rural relative in the blue state of Minnesota. They are all Democrats, born and bred.

[Bono71]

12. I am a democrat from a farm state as well...I just don't

understand the mentality on this board sometimes...there is almost a joyful glee at the downfall of American business/agriculture. It is truly strange.

[bemildred]

13. So, you admit american business and agriculture are failing? nt

[Bono71]

14. I wouldn't say failing...my point was, that there are those

on this board that seem to relish in bad news, and I can't for the life of me, figure out why.

[bemildred]

15. Bad news for whom? That's the question.

We relish bad news for those we consider our enemies: the lying stooges
in the government, the big corporations, the lying stooges in the
mass media. The federal government has been screwing small businesses
and small farmers raw for decades, and promoting monopoly corporate
control of the economy, giving my tax money away to big corporations.
Why should I support that?

[jwirr]

18. While I am not exactly gleeful

regarding failing farmers and especially small family farmers, I will tell you that when I lived in Iowa my daughter was born with severe disabilities from farm chemicals in the well-water. Now I realize that the farmers did not know any more than I did at that time that these chemicals were harmful. But I can also tell you that those same farm neighbors whose chemicals were in that well resented the idea that the state would be providing welfare to take care of her when she needed it. They still fight polution laws in the part of Iowa where she was born and many of their disabled children still move to other states where they can recieve better care. I do not in any way wish that this rust would harm our food supply but some farmers should not be looking for help from the government which they do not think should ever interfer in their lives or help the helpless. I am assuming that you farmers who are Democrat are not among this group.

[bemildred]

19. Allow me to express my sympathies.

I know well and personally of what you speak.
It just leaves me speechless, there is no good thing to say.