Agriculture

• Monday, July 16th 2012 - 23:55 UTC

  Drought stretching across US threatens economies of farming states and food prices

  

  A worst-in-a-generation drought from stretching across the United States is damaging crops and rural economies and threatening to drive food prices to record levels. Agriculture, though a small part (1.2%) of the 15.5 trillion dollars US economy, had been one of the most resilient industries in the past three years as the country struggled to recover from the recession.

• Saturday, July 14th 2012 - 00:26 UTC

  Brazil’s 2012/13 soybean crop in place to dispute the US supremacy

  

  Next season, 2012/13 Brazilian soybean growers could be in place to jump from the world's No. 2 producer and dispute the US first place. Brazil's 2012-13 soybean production is expected to rise 25% from this season’s drought-punished, to 83.1 million tons.

• Friday, July 13th 2012 - 06:44 UTC

  Argentine 2011/12 soy harvest 20% lower than previous year because of dry-spell

  

  Argentina's 2011/12 soy harvest has come at an expected 39.9 million tons, but 20% lower than the previous year's crop after a Pampas dry spell dashed early-season hopes of bumper crop, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday.

• Wednesday, July 11th 2012 - 22:56 UTC

  'Euroleaf', trademark for the strict EU organic farming standards

  

  The “Euro-leaf” EU organic logo was introduced on 1 July 2010, but in order to help operators adapt to the new rules, and to avoid waste of existing packaging, a 2-year transition period was allowed before it was compulsory on all products.

• Wednesday, July 11th 2012 - 22:09 UTC

  OECD/FAO anticipate promising future for farm-commodity prices

  

  World farm commodity prices will edge higher in the next decade, and oilseeds are set to outperform wheat and other cereals, both trends fuelled by demand in emerging economies, the OECD said on Wednesday, presenting a joint report with the UN's food agency FAO.

• Monday, July 9th 2012 - 18:54 UTC

  Bad weather threatening crops in farming giants but it’s not like 2008

  

  A second global food price shock is gathering steam as bad weather decimates crops in the farming giants US, Brazil, Argentina, India, Russia, the EU and Australia that feed the world, according to market analysts.

• Thursday, July 5th 2012 - 08:06 UTC

  Paraguay's Destructive Soy Boom

  

  By Jeremy Hobbs - The following column was published in The New York Times Opinion page.
  It gives another side of the current situation in Paraguay, and the role the landlocked country plays as a leading exporter of the oilseed.

• Saturday, June 30th 2012 - 05:19 UTC

  Brazil farmers rush to cash soy exports on high prices and favourable exchange rate

  

  Brazil could soon run out of soybeans to export this year after farmers’ frontloaded their shipments more than normal to cash in on high international prices and a favourable exchange rate.

• Friday, June 29th 2012 - 05:16 UTC

  Rousseff unveils 55bn dollars in loans at lower rates for the 2012/13 farm season

  

  Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has unveiled a 115-billion-Reais (55 billion dollars) loan program aimed at reinforcing agriculture's role as a lever of Brazilian economic growth.

• Sunday, June 24th 2012 - 03:21 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez receives Wen Jiabao with a long list of requests

  

  Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Argentina Saturday on an official visit aimed at boosting trade with one of South America's top agricultural producers.