Italian Farmers Set Up Holding Company For Trading

Italian farmers have joined forces to set up a national holding company for trading in cereals and other agricultural business to overcome economic crisis together, executives of the new company said Oct. 16. The holding company, Consorzi Agrari d’Italia, unites 23 agricultural consortia representing nearly one-third of Italian farms. It accounts for 20 per cent

How Soon Will Cellulosic Ethanol Arrive?

The arrival of ethanol produced from cellulosic feedstock sources has almost been a standing joke within the ethanol industry. Each year it has always been “four to five years down the road” before commercial production would become viable. That’s changed: the “four to five years” is now. At a recent ethanol workshop, several companies, including


Manitoba Farmer Gives Commons Committee An Earful

Politicians and farm groups spend too much time debating marketing boards, the Canadian Wheat Board and farm safety nets and not enough on what will really help producers, a southwestern Manitoba farmer told the Commons agriculture committee recently. “Those three areas of policy suck 90 per cent of the oxygen out of the ag policy

Agricultural Energy Expansion Must-Haves

The expanding renewable energy sector offers incredible opportunities for Manitoba producers. What we need now are the right policy tools and information on diversifying into new agricultural-based energy solutions such as biomass, wind power, and renewable fuels. Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) recently updated a policy paper regarding agricultural energy, which outlines our vision for the


Co-Op Business Model Most Resilient

Excerpt from a July 3 release from the International Federation of Agricultural Producers recognizing the UN International Day of Co-operatives. This year’s theme was “Driving Global Recovery through Cooperative Enterprise.” Th e International Federation of Agricultural Producers is encouraging the adoption and strengthening of the co-operative business model as part of national financial and social

Hyundai Heavy Buys Russian Farm

South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries has acquired a farm in the Russian Far East, a purchase that could test the water for further Asian investment in Russia’s burgeoning agriculture sector. Hyundai Heavy, also the world’s largest shipbuilder, has agreed to pay $6.5 million for a 67.6 per cent stake in Khorol Zerno LLC, which operates


New Regs Upset Ethanol Applecart

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 5 announced proposed regulations regarding implementation of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). Despite the legislation’s namesake, there isn’t much security for the growth of traditional corn ethanol. EISA was landmark legislation for the biofuels industry because it set a national goal of producing

China Asks To Plant Jatropha In Zambia

China has asked Zambia to plant two million hectares of jatropha in the Southern African country for production of biofuels, the Biofuels Association of Zambia (BAZ) said March 31. If agreed, the deal could become one of the biggest farming land ventures by an Asian or Middle Eastern country in Africa. “China has approached the


ACC Forum To Discuss Climate Change

David Barber used to be a skeptic. Barber has spent almost 30 years studying sea ice in the Arctic region. For the first 10 years he thought that changes he was observing in the ice, and the effects they had on the Arctic ecosystem, were as a result of natural variability. He was not convinced

French Farmer Is New Sun King

Bright winter sun dissolves a blanket of snow on barn roofs to reveal a bold new sideline for Jean-Luc Westphal. Besides producing eggs and grains, he is to generate solar power for thousands of homes. Economic crisis has cast doubt on funding hopes for many big renewable energy projects, but the giant panels built into