Rice growers' heavy investments in irrigation have resulted in lower crop insurance program participation levels, U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency (RMA) Administrator William J. Murphy told the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management. Murphy was the only Obama administration witness to testify during the hearing. Other witnesses represented crop insurance companies and agents. Murphy testified that RMA's newly renegotiated agreement with crop insurance companies "will have no adverse impact on farmers' premium costs."  Subcommittee Chairman Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, called the hearing to review the state of the crop insurance industry. Boswell said farmers need a good crop insurance agent, market access and a good banker to succeed in agriculture today.

PHU NHUAN, VIETNAM -- Overproduction and lower exports have left rice farmers in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta holding on to their stocks in the face of lower prices, analysts say. Vietnam is the world’s second largest exporter of rice and the Delta accounts for more than half of the country’s production.But surpluses, the beginning of the wet season, and a shortage of places for drying wet rice are adding up to heavy potential losses, says Vo Tong Xuan, an internationally recognized rice expert. He fears Vietnam will lose one million tons of the grain this season.

PHU NHUAN - Over-production and lower exports have left rice farmers in Vietnam's Mekong Delta holding on to their stocks in the face of lower prices, analysts say. Vietnam is the world's second-largest exporter of rice and the Delta accounts for more than half of the country's production. But surpluses, the beginning of the wet season, and a shortage of places for drying wet rice are adding up to heavy potential losses, says Vo Tong Xuan, an internationally-recognised rice expert.

 The revival of monsoon flows over the Arabian Sea would be delayed until early next week (by July 19-20), according to international model forecasts. The delay is mainly attributed to the Northwest Pacific cyclone (typhoon) named Conson, which has been siphoning off a chunk of India-bound flows away from the equatorial seas. Conson is expected to weaken after a second landfall over southeast China over the next two to three days.