Agriculture

• Tuesday, August 21st 2012 - 20:07 UTC

  US families dump 40% of their food every year, says environmental group

  

  Americans throw away nearly half their food every year, waste worth roughly 165 billion dollars annually or 2.275 dollars per average family, according to a study released on Tuesday by the Natural Resources Defence Council

• Monday, August 20th 2012 - 21:14 UTC

  Insufficient harvests and soaring prices anticipate another world food crisis

  

  With droughts parching farms in the United States and near the Black Sea, weak monsoon rains in India and persistent hunger in Africa's Sahel region, the world could be headed towards another food crisis, experts say.

• Monday, August 20th 2012 - 20:45 UTC

  Falklands improves livestock haulage to ensure steady supply to meat plant

  

  Falkland Islands livestock haulage should become easier in the forthcoming season with the introduction of suitable sized crates and equipment for both East and West Falkland, reports the Penguin News.

• Monday, August 20th 2012 - 06:41 UTC

  Argentina accuses EU before WTO for restriction imposed on bio-fuel imports

  

  Argentina has taken the first steps toward formally accusing the European Union of violating World Trade Organization rules in a dispute over restrictions on bio-fuels exports to the EU from the Mercosur member country.

• Thursday, August 16th 2012 - 20:07 UTC

  Wheat futures up in the US and Europe on fears Russia might restrict exports

  

  US and European wheat futures gained again on Thursday as importers took advantage of a price fall earlier in the week and as operators continued to anticipate Russia would drop out of export markets in the coming months due to drought-hit supply.

• Tuesday, August 14th 2012 - 23:51 UTC

  Sunflower seed production down in Europe because of lack of rainfall

  

  Sunflower seed production in the European Union, Ukraine and Russia will drop 11.7% to a total of 24.82 million tons this year, from 28.12 million tons a year ago, Hamburg-based oilseed analyst Oil World said on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, August 14th 2012 - 23:38 UTC

  Mercosur farmers plan to sow record soybean area; stocks drop to half from a year ago

  

  Mercosur farmers in Brazil and Argentina are forecast to plant more soybeans for harvesting this season in response to higher prices, at the expense of wheat and corn sowing, according to Oil World. Paraguay and Uruguay Agriculture ministries have also anticipated an increase in the soybeans planted areas.

• Tuesday, August 14th 2012 - 22:10 UTC

  US, France and Mexico considering G20 emergency meeting to address soaring grain prices

  

  US, France and Mexico are planning talks to consider whether an emergency meeting is needed to tackle the soaring price of grain. The three will hold a conference call at the end of this month after the worst US drought in 50 years threatens to cause a sharp rise in the cost of staple crops.

• Tuesday, August 14th 2012 - 07:31 UTC

  Obama announces 170m dollars emergency support for scorched farms

  

  President Barack Obama announced an emergency purchase of up to 170 million dollars of meat and fish on Monday on a campaign trip to drought-hit Iowa, and accused Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan of blocking disaster aid to farmers.

• Monday, August 13th 2012 - 05:11 UTC

  Aid for US farmers stalled in Senate; proposal to reduce bio-fuel mix in gasoline

  

  The US House of Representatives passed a 383 million dollars disaster relief bill that provides political shelter for lawmakers during the worst drought in half a century, but may not release the aid for months to come.