Summary of newspapers of the previous day –2.9. 2009

In the long term, ministry underestimates organic farmers´ work

The Marginal Areas Union (SMO) protests against untrue data in a press release of the Ministry of Agriculture of the CR from the 1.9.2009 in which the minister Šebesta asserts that “chicken meat is not produced by Czech bio-food producers at all and it is imported from abroad”. This is strictly untrue information because very several SMO member farms deal just with bio-chicken production. In spite of the minister accentuates a dynamic development of organic farming in the CR, this “omission” shows evidence of that the Ministry obviously does not work with actual data in the area of bio-production and organic agriculture which represents a prospective alternative for poorer agricultural areas, shortly LFA.

Apples are much healthier than it has been thought till now

Consummation of apples has much bigger importance for human health than it has been thought. A saying, that one apple consumed every day keeps illnesses and a doctor far from a body, was verified in a practice. However, till now, experts have quite underestimated apples, apricots and peaches regarding a content of substances having a beneficial effect on health – antioxidants. Amount of them, according to the newest measurements, is as much as five times higher that it has been presented till now.

Harvest-season terminates, cereal crop is lower, rape crop is higher against last year

Farmers have already harvested 97 percent of areas of cereals, the remaining 35 000 hectares of total this year´s acreage 1,436 million hectares has to be still harvested. The total yield amounts now to 7,1 million tons which is roughly by five percents less than the last year´s definitive harvest, which achieved 7,5 million tons. Rape has been harvested from 99 percent of fields. Its production slightly increased thanks to increase in areas and hectare yields by 86 000 tons to 1,135 million tons, the Agrarian Chamber announced today.

Stocking of cereals in foil bags

Within price fluctuation on a cereal market, an significance of short-term stocking capacities for cereals for food production increases. Investment costs for conventional storage facilities are 100 to 250 EUR/t (Germany), costs for six-month stocking are about 20 EUR/t. To secure a lifetime the cereals is sustained in dry state or in cold and they have to be protected against contaminants, pests, birds and other animals. Anaerobic stocking is not usual, meanwhile, however, air exhaustion decisivel y prolongs the lifetime. The practice is a stocking of feeding and industrial cereals in plastic bags whereas, however, with humidity above 25 % lactic fermentation happens.