Agriculture

• Saturday, January 18th 2014 - 05:55 UTC

  Dairy values and meat peaked in 2013 according to FAO Food Price Index

  

  The FAO Food Price Index averaged 206.7 points in December 2013, nearly unchanged from November, as a sharp increase in dairy prices and firming meat values largely balanced out a steep decline in sugar quotations and lower cereal and oil prices.

• Saturday, January 18th 2014 - 05:50 UTC

  Global cereal production in 2013 and outlook revised upward, says FAO

  

  FAO’s latest forecast for world cereal production in 2013 has been revised upward marginally (2 million tons) since November to a new high of almost 2 500 million tons (including rice in milled terms), 8.4% more than last year and some 6% above the previous record in 2011.

• Saturday, January 18th 2014 - 05:08 UTC

  Falklands' pastures development scientist in the New Year's Honors List

  

  Two scientists from Britain's Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) have been awarded OBEs in the New Year’s Honors list. Professor Jim McAdam from Queen's University Belfast, for services to research and agriculture in the Falkland Islands, and Dr Danny Todd was honored for his contribution to biological sciences and veterinary work, reports Farming Life.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 07:09 UTC

  Paraguay plans to climb from eighth to world's fifth exporter of beef by 2018

  

  One of Paraguay's priorities is to make the country the world's fifth exporter of beef by 2018, according to Industry and Trade minister Gustavo Leite. The land locked member of Mercosur currently holds the eighth position.

• Friday, January 10th 2014 - 06:27 UTC

  Construction of Monsanto plant in north Argentina halted on environmental grounds

  

  A labor appeals court in north-central Argentina ruled that the construction of a Monsanto plant is unconstitutional, halting work on the site. The three judge court ruled 2-1 in favor of the activists who filed a legal appeal against Monsanto’s GMO seed plant on environmental protection grounds in the municipality of Malvinas Argentinas, located in central Cordoba Province.

• Friday, January 3rd 2014 - 18:52 UTC

  Record exports in dollars for Uruguay in 2013, but prospects not so encouraging

  

  Uruguayan exports in 2013 increased 4.8% in value and reached a record 9,155 billion dollars with soybean the main item and China the leading trade partner. The data was released by the government export promotion organization Uruguay XXI, which sometimes is over optimistic.

• Friday, January 3rd 2014 - 18:40 UTC

  'Andean super crop' quinoa opens the way for the UN Year of Family Farming

  

  Increased production and consumption of quinoa, coupled with higher visibility of and greater scientific knowledge about the so-called “Andean super crop” is the legacy left to the world by the International Year of Quinoa 2013, the closing ceremonies of which were held in Bolivia and Peru.

• Saturday, December 14th 2013 - 06:11 UTC

  Argentine central bank issues hard currency bonds hoping to lure cereal exporters

  

  The Argentine Central Bank, starved of dollars and declining international reserves started to trade new short-term dollar-denominate bonds in order to encourage the farm sector to sell the crops they are still holding on to. It is estimated that over 3bn dollars in mainly soybeans remain in the hands of farmers and cereal exporters.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 08:59 UTC

  Abundance of cereals, 6% ahead of the 2011 record, says FAO latest forecast

  

  FAO’s latest forecast for world cereal production in 2013 has been revised upward marginally (2 million tons) since November to a new high of almost 2 500 million tons (including rice in milled terms), 8.4% more than last year and some 6% above the previous record in 2011. The latest revision mostly reflects adjustments to maize output estimates in the United States, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which had become firmer towards the completion of the harvests.

• Thursday, December 12th 2013 - 06:47 UTC

  Brazil expects a 90 million tons soybean crop, making it the world's top producer

  

  Brazil's government food supply agency Conab forecast record soybean output of 90.03 million tons, near the top of its previous forecast of 87.9 million to 90.2 million tons, as farmers finish planting new fields.