Balkan Heatwave Cuts Bosnian Corn Crop In Half - Other Grains, Veggies Vulnerable - Reuters

[hatrack]

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia - A heatwave and persistent drought could halve the grain and vegetable crops in Bosnia this year, an agriculture official said on Tuesday.

"An extremely hot wind and temperatures of up to 42 degrees Celsius have caused significant damage to maize, vegetables and fruit in the Serb Republic," said Vladimir Usorac, the head of the region's farmers and agriculture association.

Usorac was referring to the situation in the region known as Bosnia's granary, which planted 160,000 ha to maize, 4,000 ha to soybeans and 35,000 ha to sunflower, vegetables and forage crops this year.

"The maize crop alone will be cut by at least 50 percent to 800,000 tonnes," Usorac told Reuters. Usorac said a lack of irrigation posed the main problem as farmers relied only on rain. He said the agriculture ministry should provide assistance to overcome this issue in future

EDIT

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/43279/story.htm

[Dogmudgeon]

1. This year is going to be a disaster

The world's food reserves are already at an historic low point, and food-to-ethanol production is in full swing.

And the Press thinks that Lindsay is outta-control crazy!

--p!

[phantom power]

2. Yes, our local morning show spent several minutes pondering Lindsay...

and the pressing, pressing question of "why so many people are obsessed with celebrity!"

Hmm. Could it be because they devoted 10 minutes to Lindsay this morning, and zero minutes to boring shit like the impact of heatwaves and flooding on food production nearly everywhere on the planet this year?

Or maybe it's just another one of those batshit crazy moments I'm having, like when I saw that globe with purple spraypaint yesterday, right in the middle of a discussion about nuclear power.

[Dead_Parrot]

3. Nothing to see here...

...go back to sleep. Here's a cute bunny to help you relax.