Agriculture

• Wednesday, September 16th 2009 - 20:34 UTC

  Uruguay farm-land sales down but prices pick up again

  

  Farm land sales in Uruguay during the first half of 2009 dropped, but the average price for the hectare actually increased 25% compared to the same period a year ago, according to the latest release from the Ministry of Agriculture Statistics Office (DIEA).

• Monday, September 14th 2009 - 09:01 UTC

  Father of the Green Revolution and Nobel Peace Prize dies in Texas

  

  Norman Borlaug, the man known as the father of the Green Revolution in agriculture, died in Texas aged 95. Prof Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for agricultural innovation and the development of high-yield crops.

• Saturday, September 12th 2009 - 11:51 UTC

  Paraguayan farmers anticipate record soy crop for this season: 7 million tons

  

  Paraguayan soy bean farmers estimate that this year’s crop (2009/2010), which begins to be planted at the end of the month, could reach a new record close to seven million tons given the good climate prospects and producers enthusiasm.

• Friday, September 11th 2009 - 10:33 UTC

  “Milk strike” and dairies blockades announce EU farmers

  

  The European Milk Board, representing milk producer organisations from eight European countries, has announced a “far-reaching revolt”, including farmer blockades of dairies and the withholding of milk from the market.

• Thursday, September 10th 2009 - 04:57 UTC

  Paraguay soy bean exports plunge 46% in eight months of 2009

  

  Paraguay soy bean exports have plummeted during the first eight months of the year according to official data released Wednesday in Asunción.

• Wednesday, September 9th 2009 - 10:41 UTC

  Chilean wheat farmers squeezed by falling prices and rising costs

  

  Just two years after wheat prices registered record highs, Chilean producers are finding themselves squeezed between rising costs and cheap imports.

• Saturday, September 5th 2009 - 13:17 UTC

  Argentine farmers end eight day boycott promising to “keep fighting”

  

  Argentine farmers marked on Friday the end of an eight-day sales boycott with rallies and marches promising to “keep fighting” in support of aid for peers suffering from the worst drought in decades and to eliminate the current export tariffs system which distorts production and threatens several crops.

• Tuesday, September 1st 2009 - 05:47 UTC

  WTO confirms ruling favouring Brazil in cotton dispute with US

  

  United States faces annual trade sanctions of about 295 million US dollars for failing to scrap illegal subsidies paid to its cotton growers. However the punishment, imposed by the World Trade Organization (WTO), is far less than the 4 billion USD that Brazil, which brought the case, had wanted.

• Monday, August 31st 2009 - 07:48 UTC

  Wheat production is Argentina down, and booming in Brazil

  

  Helped by the Argentine administrations of the Kirchner couple, Brazil is catching up with Argentina as Latinamerica’s main producer of wheat. This year Brazil will be planting only 200.000 hectares less than its Mercosur partner which this winter crop is down to 2.75 million hectares.

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 09:48 UTC

  Deveronvale Perfection Textel tup lamb beats all records: £231,000

  

  A sheep is believed to have become the world most expensive after selling for £231,000. Deveronvale Perfection, bred in Banffshire, was bought by a fellow local sheep farmer at a sale in Lanark.