Agriculture

• Monday, July 20th 2009 - 12:56 UTC

  Argentine dairy farm 50 years in the business forced to close

  

  Magnasco, one of the oldest dairy farms in Argentina with a history of more than 50 years has ceased activities and will dedicate its farmland to potatoes. The family business which owns four dairy farms and rents another five took the drastic action because “there’s no way of making of profit” with the erred agriculture policies from the administration of the Kirchner couple.

• Wednesday, July 15th 2009 - 11:26 UTC

  Chilean sheep farming industry targets double lamb exports by 2010

  

  The Chilean sheep farming industry is embarking on a million dollar master plan to boost the national sheep population and double lamb exports by 2010.

• Monday, July 13th 2009 - 12:16 UTC

  Argentine farmers and industry accept dialogue, but also want “deep changes”

  

  Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s call to a dialogue with all sectors and “on all issues” received a positive response from farmers and manufactures, but they also requested “deep changes” following the government’s defeat on June 28th mid term election.

• Monday, July 13th 2009 - 11:46 UTC

  Brazil feed lot industry more cautious about expansion

  

  Brazil is planning to increase the number of cattle in feed lots by 4.6% which would be equivalent to a total of 1.673.500 heads, according to Beef Point, a Brazilian portal linked to the meat industry.

• Friday, July 10th 2009 - 12:48 UTC

  Uruguayan farmland selling prices down 20 to 30%

  

  The cost of farmland in Uruguay has dropped between 20% and 30% in the first half of 2009 and the number of operations has fallen drastically, 70% according to local camp brokers.

• Friday, July 10th 2009 - 07:38 UTC

  Another record wheat year is forecasted for Uruguay

  

  Uruguay could be heading for another record of farmland dedicated to wheat and although it is too early to have the exact data, estimates are above 500.000 hectares. Good climate and lower input costs, mainly from fertilizers, could be anticipating a record harvest next December overtaking the 480.000 hectares and 1.2 million tons of the 2008 crop, according to reports in the Montevideo press based on official and private estimates.

• Wednesday, July 8th 2009 - 08:04 UTC

  Mercosur soy bean reserves stand at a minimum

  

  South America’s soy bean reserves suffered a strong reduction following recent sales while the global supply could be affected depending on the US crop and weather in the northern hemisphere according to Oil World latest forecast

• Friday, June 26th 2009 - 12:49 UTC

  Lula da Silva unveils agriculture 53 billion USD support plan

  

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva announced Thursday the 2009/2010 Agriculture and Livestock Plan which will provide the equivalent of 53 billion US dollars in aid, to help farmers take advantage of rising global demand for food. This represents a 37% increase over the previous farm year.

• Thursday, June 25th 2009 - 06:43 UTC

  Paraguay hosts global conference to eradicate FMD in poor countries

  

  Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo opened Wednesday in Asuncion the world conference on “Foot and Mouth Disease; the way towards global control” organized by FAO and the World Organization for Animal Health, OIE.

• Wednesday, June 24th 2009 - 04:00 UTC

  South American wines help overcome the global crisis

  

  As the world grits its teeth and grabs another glass of something to chase the blues away, South American wine producers are watching exports bounce. International wine sales from places like Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Peru are up in the first quarter of 2009, and industry professionals are saying the crisis has been positive for them.