Maize harvesting is in full swing in Europe and the effects of summer drought are being seen in contrasting yields, which could push down production this year despite a sharp increase in plantings, analysts said. Forecasters have made steep cuts to their estimates of the European Union-wide maize harvest due to drought, and consultancy Strategie
EU maize harvest shows mixed yields work
Denmark to cull entire farmed mink population
Coronavirus mutation spreads to people
Copenhagen | Reuters — Denmark will cull its mink population of up to 17 million after a mutation of the coronavirus found in the animals spread to humans, the prime minister said on Wednesday. Health authorities found virus strains in humans and in mink which showed decreased sensitivity against antibodies, potentially lowering the efficacy of
Adama to buy control of major Chinese ag chem maker
Tel Aviv | Reuters — Israeli crop protection firm Adama said Thursday it will acquire a majority stake in Jiangsu Huifeng Bio Agriculture’s crop protection plants for about US$175 million. In the first phase, it will buy 50 per cent of Shanghai Dibai Plant Protection, a wholly owned subsidiary of Huifeng focused on the sale
U.S. EPA approves XtendiMax use for five years
Court ruling had blocked dicamba sales
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will allow farmers for the next five years to spray crops with a Bayer herbicide whose sales were blocked by a U.S. appeals court in June, EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler said Tuesday. XtendiMax, a dicamba-based herbicide that is sprayed on soybeans and cotton genetically engineered to
China September meat imports slightly up on month
China imported 834,000 tonnes of meat in September, customs data showed Oct. 13, slightly higher than the previous month, as the world’s biggest meat consumer continues to stock up on proteins after a plunge in its pork output. The large volume compares to August’s imports of 832,000 tonnes and suggests there has been little impact
China says corn output to grow, after fears of shortfall drive prices
China’s Agriculture Ministry said Oct. 15 that the country’s corn-planting acreage had remained “basically stable” this year and annual output was set to increase despite the northeastern Corn Belt being hit by three typhoons in recent weeks. The ministry’s comments, attributed to an unnamed official, came after Chinese corn futures hit a record high of
Brazil producing more meat on less land
Meat packer also says direct suppliers don’t contribute to deforestation
Livestock suppliers in Brazil are producing more while using less land, as concerns mount about straining natural resources to produce food to feed a growing world population, Gilberto Tomazoni, global chief executive of the world’s largest meat packer JBS SA, said Oct. 16. In remarks made during a panel discussion to mark World Food day, Tomazoni said meat
Britain to protect pork pies, whisky with new scheme after EU exit
London | Reuters — New rules to guarantee the authenticity and origin of traditional British foods, such as Stilton cheese and Melton Mowbray pork pies, after the end of the UK’s Brexit transition period, were set out by the government on Thursday. Britain left the European Union at the end of January and an 11-month
Monsanto loses final appeal over French farmer’s herbicide accident
Paris | Reuters — Bayer’s Monsanto division on Wednesday lost a final appeal in a long-running French legal battle in which the crop chemical maker has been held liable for a farmer’s accidental inhalation of a herbicide. Monsanto had been trying to overturn a decision by an appeals court in 2019 that had found the
Germany finds three new African swine fever cases in wild boar
Three more cases of African swine fever (ASF) have been confirmed in wild boar in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, the state government said on Oct. 8. The new discoveries bring the total number of confirmed cases to 53 since the first one on Sept. 10, the Brandenburg state Health Ministry said. All were