South America
Many positives for Argentina ethanol production
At a time when there are complaints about corn being used for ethanol production and the price of corn as a feedstock is making ethanol production unprofitable, there is economic-based discussion about Argentina jumping into corn ethanol production at a high level.
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Food Security Index shows huge disparity between nations
Imagine if it took 70 percent of your disposable income to put food on your family’s table, leaving just 30 percent for all other expenses. It is hard for us to imagine, but that’s the reality for the average person in Congo, Cambodia or Nepal, according to the Food Security Index, a major report sponsored by DuPont that ranks food affordability, availability, and quality across 105 countries.
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FAO to improve livestock’s environmental impact measures
A new United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)-led partnership is looking to improve how the environmental impacts of the livestock industry are measured and assessed, a necessary first step in improving the sustainability of this important food production sector.
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Commentary: EU too influential over Central America ag
The European Union is tightening its business connections with Central American countries, and that presumably means agricultural exports to Europe is part of that tightening. I’m afraid this means European countries are achieving more power over how crops are grown by Central American producers.
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International commission sets ractopamine standards
At its annual meeting being held July 2-7 in Rome, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which was established by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote food safety and fair practices in trade, adopted science-based standards for ractopamine. Specifically, on Thursday the commission adopted Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) and Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) for pig and cattle muscle, fat, liver and kidney.
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FAO and OIE outline global FMD-free strategy
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) have announced an initiative to combat foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on a global scale. The two groups outlined a detailed strategy to bring it under control and work toward a global FMD-free objective.
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JBS fights back
According to news reports, Brazil-based beef packer JBS SA has obtained an injunction requiring Greenpeace to remove its “JBS Scorecard” report from its website and to cease from publicizing the report. Greenpeace has used the report to pressure several major retailers to cancel orders from JBS.
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Argentine farmers to end strike, warn of more protests
Argentine farmers said they would allow a one-week freeze on grains sales to end as planned on Tuesday, but threatened to stage more anti-government protests against taxes and export curbs.
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Strike slows flow of grains to top Argentine port
Grain trucks entering Argentina's main port of Rosario slowed to a trickle on Monday due to a five-day-old sales strike by farmers, but exports remained uninterrupted due to ample dockside reserves.
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Argentine grain farmers call national sales freeze
Argentine farmers announced a one-week nationwide halt to grain sales this week to protest higher taxes in key farming province Buenos Aires, a move that lifted U.S. soy futures as traders braced for tight supplies.
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Argentine farmers protest as tax bill progresses
Lawmakers in Argentina's biggest grains province started debating a bill o n T hursday to hike land taxes despite strike threats by farmers who say the reform would drive some growers out of business.
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- Corn and soybean prices continue to retrace 2012 drought rally
- Swine virus confirmed in Iowa, Indiana hog herds
- Premium Standard Farms Founder Dies Unexpectedly
- USDA says has detected virus in Iowa hog population
- Commentary: GMOs: How do I hate thee?
- Weather report: Rain spreads across the Corn Belt
