Happy New Year 2020 Hokuryu Land Improvement District Chairman Junichi Fukase

January 1, 2025 (Holiday)

New Year's Greetings from Junichi Fukase, Chairman of the Hokuryu Land Improvement District

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Happy New Year.

We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all our members who have welcomed the New Year in good health and with their families. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude for your continued understanding and cooperation in the operation, maintenance, and promotion of the Land Improvement District.

Regarding last year's rice crop, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced a crop condition index of 103, indicating a "fairly good" condition. Although there was a temporary lack of sunlight from late May to early June, high temperatures and abundant sunlight subsequently contributed to favorable growing conditions. While rice sales prices have risen, the prices of fertilizer, fuel, and other essential ingredients for rice production have also remained high over the past few years. In order to maintain stable production, farmers have been forced to reflect these increased costs in sales prices. While the agricultural situation remains challenging, we hope that the revision of the "Basic Act on Food, Agriculture, and Rural Areas" will enable new farmers and others to continue farming with peace of mind, and that the future of Japanese agriculture will be bright.

On July 17th of last year, a water leak occurred in the national main irrigation channel in Numata Town. Because the accident occurred during the water supply period, we were busy injecting water into each field using water trucks and small pumps, and temporarily repairing the damaged irrigation channel. However, we received tremendous cooperation from the Sapporo Development and Construction Department, Sorachi General Bureau, Hokuryu Town Hall, Hokuryu Construction Industry Association, and other related organizations, which enabled us to respond smoothly, and for this we are extremely grateful. We would also like to sincerely apologize to our members for the great concern and inconvenience this has caused. Going forward, we plan to continue our investigation in cooperation with related organizations to thoroughly prevent recurrence.

In the Hokkaido Prefectural Land Improvement Project, we have completed the Hokuryu Minami 2 District and are working on the continuation of the Hokuryu Minami 1 District. Thanks to the little rain we had, the project, including the summer construction, went smoothly, and we believe we were able to complete the work beautifully. We have also decided to adopt the new Iinotsu 2 District, so we will begin surveying and other work.

Finally, this year too, we will continue to work together as a team, with the aim of promoting ongoing projects, efficiently maintaining and managing our facilities, and reducing expenses, with the guidance and cooperation of the town government and other related organizations. We ask for your continued guidance and cooperation.

We hope that this year will be the best year for all our members and that we will have an even more bountiful harvest in the fall.

<Excerpt from "Hokuryu Public Relations" January 2025 issue, No. 713>

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