Agriculture

• Monday, March 9th 2015 - 11:45 UTC

  February's FAO Food Price Index at is lowest value since early 2010

  

  The FAO Food Price Index averaged 179. 4 points in February 2015, down 1.8 points (1.0 percent) from its January value and 29 points (14.0 percent) below its level in February 2014. Prices of cereals, meat and, especially, sugar, dipped last month, while they remained steady in the case of oils and rebounded sharply in the case of dairy products. The index has been on a declining path since April 2014 and has now reached its lowest value since July 2010.

• Saturday, March 7th 2015 - 07:59 UTC

  Argentina's beef production tepid recovery forecasted to remain flat in 2015

  

  Argentina's revival as a major force in beef has been slowed by a dent to calving rates from poor weather, besides by a reluctance by producers to maximize animal weights, in the face of export restrictions.

• Friday, March 6th 2015 - 08:48 UTC

  Argentine farmers and government clash over next week's three day walkout

  

  Argentine farmer organizations lashed back at Agriculture minister Carlos Casaquimela who questioned a three-day strike announced for next week to protest government policies, and which he described as 'unjustifiable'.

• Tuesday, March 3rd 2015 - 06:17 UTC

  Truckers strike in Brazil still disrupting traffic in several states; soy harvest delayed

  

  Striking truck drivers resumed some roadblocks in Brazil on Monday even as the government cracked down on protesters and promised to implement a law to lower toll costs and give other benefits to the transport sector.

• Wednesday, February 18th 2015 - 19:28 UTC

  Canada identifies origin of mad cow disease case; Korea bans Canadian beef

  

  The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association says a beef breeding cow found with mad cow disease on an Alberta farm was born in the province at a different farm. Association spokesman John Masswohl says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency identified the birth farm. It is the first case reported since 2011. South Korea announced it was banning Canadian beef.

• Wednesday, February 18th 2015 - 03:56 UTC

  Brazil's corn and soybean crops flattening out influenced by climate conditions

  

  Brazil's sowings of safrinha corn are to fall for the first time in seven years, Conab (National Supply Co.) said, cutting its forecast for the country's overall production of the grain, and lowering hopes for the soybean harvest too.

• Monday, February 16th 2015 - 08:51 UTC

  Germany urges Brazil with an EU/Mercosur trade agreement

  

  Germany wants to speed negotiations for a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, said Foreign minister Walter Steinmeier in Brasilia. The agreement has been pending since 1999 when discussions started but so far have been unable to reach a deal or commit a date because of internal problems from both sides.

• Friday, February 6th 2015 - 06:53 UTC

  FAO Food Price Index continued de decline in January; cereal record crop anticipated

  

  The FAO Food Price Index continued to decline in January, averaging 182.7 points for the month, or 1.9 percent below its December 2014 level. Lower prices reflect strong production expectations as FAO also raised its 2014 forecast for world cereal production to a record high and noted that early indications for crops in 2015 are favorable.

• Saturday, January 10th 2015 - 06:28 UTC

  FAO Food Price index falls in 20014 on large cereals' supplies and record stocks

  

  FAO's monthly Food Price Index declined in December after three months of stability. Continued large supplies and record stocks combined with a stronger U.S. dollar and falling oil prices contributed to the decline, which helped bring the 2014 overall Food Price Index down 3.7%.

• Thursday, January 8th 2015 - 01:13 UTC

  Falklands contribution to the development of sheep farming in Magallanes

  

  The close historic and farming links between the Falkland Islands and the Magallanes Region, were underlined in a recent article by Punta Arenas researcher Silvestre Fugellie dedicated to sheep farming, the 'golden fleece' that changed the economy of those barren lands in the extreme south of Chile over a century ago.