A project inserting terraces and drainage has boosted production where soil has been severely eroded along the flood-prone Yangtze River, offering a possible solution to the bigger problem of China’s Three Gorges. As Chinese officials set about trying to repair the environmental damage that the Three Gorges
Cargill Defines Food Chain While Assailing Government Hoarding
27/07/2011 by
Cargill Inc. Chief Executive Officer Greg Page, who runs the largest agricultural company in the U.S., has a good idea whom to blame for the global surge in food prices at the end of 2010: governments. Page urged 708 delegates and guests at the National Grain and Feed Association convention in San Diego in March […]
Toxic seaweed on French coast sparks health fears
27/07/2011 by
Fears in Brittany over the health risks of toxic seaweed have been re-ignited after two wild boar were found dead on a beach and the amount of the foul-smelling green algae collected from western French shores has doubled in a year. Conservationists say that toxic seaweed has now spread to more than 200 sites along […]
Grim economic fallout from Chilean volcano: Millions lost by airlines, tourism, agriculture
25/07/2011 by
SANTIAGO, Chile – The 100 million tons of pyroclastic ash and rock spewed by an Andean volcano has meant hundreds of millions of dollars in losses for communities more accustomed to profiting from the dramatic mountain landscape. The Cordon Caulle volcano opened a new gash along a ridge just across the border and
Brazilian senator: Forest Code reform necessary to grow farm sector
24/07/2011 by
Mongabay.com | Rhett A. Butler Over the past twenty years Brazil emerged as an agricultural superpower: today it is the largest exporter beef, sugar, coffee, and orange juice, and the second largest producer of soybeans. While much of this growth has been fueled by a sharp increase in productivity resulting from
Tokyo Grain Exchange scraps plan to merge with Tokyo Commodity Exchange+
24/07/2011 by
Tokyo Grain Exchange Inc. said Tuesday it has scrapped its proposal to merge with Tokyo Commodity Exchange Inc. ahead of the Aug. 8 launch of rice futures trading. TGE President Yoshiaki Watanabe told reporters that the company has withdrawn the planned transfer of
Rural property investor PrimeAg is to raise $125 million from the issue of new shares to help kickstart a new agricultural fund.
24/07/2011 by
The fund will invest in Australian cropping properties and water entitlements and is targeting $600 million in assets under management. PrimeAg said on Wednesday that an institutional investor which had requested to remain anonymous had committed at
Man survives ‘killer bees’ – attack near Modesto believed to be isolated
24/07/2011 by
MODESTO – African honeybees attacked a 70-year-old man walking his dogs near Modesto in the first known documented “killer bees” assault north of Madera. Agricultural officials believe African bees have not colonized north of Tulare County and suspect that the July 5 attack, though savage, was isolated. “It felt like
Europe holds the key to unlocking rural potential
24/07/2011 by
We need simpler and more locally responsive agricultural and fisheries policies, says Ireland’s new Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) Minister Michelle O’Neill The European Union exerts a strong influence on the fortunes of our local agricultural, fishing and agri-food industries. Over the coming months, formal proposals for the
Inflation Tough to Digest for Asia as Food Costs Soar From Pork to Onions
24/07/2011 by
Asian cuisine may be too much of a good thing for some of the region’s central banks as policy makers grapple with the challenge of responding to spikes in the cost of staples from rice and pork to onions and chilies. Pork prices jumped 57 percent in June in China, leading Premier Wen Jiabao to […]