Agriculture

Saturday, January 19th 2019 - 09:22 UTC
Extreme wet January displaces thousands and floods farmland in Mercosur member countries

Intense rainfall in northeast Argentina and neighbouring areas in Mercosur members has caused devastating floods, amplifying the economic burdens of Argentina's recession. Over 5,000 people have evacuated the region, and millions of hectares of crops have been sent underwater.
Friday, January 18th 2019 - 10:19 UTC
Doubts about Brazil's real soybean production estimate because of adverse weather

Analysts are casting doubt on the Brazilian government’s soybean production estimate. Conab, the government’s food supply and statistics agency, recently issued a forecast for 118.8 million tons of production, only slightly smaller than last year’s record 119.4 million tons.
Wednesday, January 16th 2019 - 05:48 UTC
Australia exposed to record temperatures: some 45C expected this Wednesday

Australians have been warned to avoid exerting themselves outdoors and to drink lots of water as record temperatures in parts of the country look set to linger, and even increase, over coming days. Parts of New South Wales, Australia’s most populated state, and an area of Western Australia, saw record high minimum temperatures of 33 Celsius overnight.
Monday, January 14th 2019 - 09:26 UTC
FAO Food Price Index fell almost 22% in 2018 compared to 2017

Global food prices held broadly stable in December, with rising international cereal prices offsetting declining sugar and dairy quotations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said. However overall for 2018, the FAO Food Price Index fell by almost 22% from 2017
Thursday, January 10th 2019 - 08:32 UTC
Brazil's soybean crop forecast cut 4.5m tons: hot spell in southern states

Brazil’s 2018/19 soybean crop forecast was cut to 116.9 million tons on Wednesday from 121.4 million tons late in November, said consultancy AgRural, blaming extreme heat and a dry spell in southern areas for the smaller projection.
Wednesday, January 9th 2019 - 19:01 UTC
US government shutdown leaves farmers and markets with no reports on world crops

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) delayed several major U.S. and world crop reports because of the two-week-old partial government shutdown, the agency said on Friday. New release dates for the monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report and other data originally scheduled for Jan. 11 will be set once government funding is restored, USDA said.
Monday, January 7th 2019 - 09:29 UTC
Brazil meat exports had a complicated 2018, buts sales are picking up

Export sales by Brazilian meat processors lagged last year as trade bans and a domestic truckers’ strike weighed on their ability to serve major customers like Russia and the European Union, according to data released by trade group ABPA.
Monday, January 7th 2019 - 08:54 UTC
How a Uruguayan town revolutionized the way we eat

BBC has published a piece on the history of Corned Beef and its brand name, Fray Bentos, the city located on the banks of the Uruguay River, and which over a century ago produced what it describes “as the most influential food brands of the 20th century”
Monday, January 7th 2019 - 08:50 UTC
Brazil's 2018/19 soy crop estimated at 122m tons and Argentina's, 56.5m tons

Estimates of corn and soybean production in Brazil and Argentina remain unchanged from private analytics IEG vantage last monthly report. The firm projected Brazil’s 2018/19 soybean crop at 122 million tons and Argentina’s crop at 56.5 million tons.
Saturday, December 29th 2018 - 21:16 UTC
Hemp becomes federally legal in US; estimates of a US$ 20bn industry by 2022

After years of prohibition, industrial hemp is now federally legal in the United States. President Trump signed off on the 2018 Farm Bill which redefines hemp as an agricultural commodity, and more importantly, removes it from the Controlled Substances Act.