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☆ Ukraine's dam collapse is both a fast-moving disaster and a slow-moving ecological catastrophe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Alexander Ermochenko | ReutersThe destruction of the Kakhovka Dam was a fast-moving disaster that is swiftly evolving into a long-term environmental catastrophe affecting drinking water, food supplies and ecosystems reaching into the Black Sea. The Kakhovka Dam was the last in a system of six Soviet-era dams on the river, which flows from Belarus to the Black Sea. When Russian forces seized the Kakhovka Dam, the whole system fell into neglect. Rainbow-colored slicks already coat the murky, placid waters around flooded Kherson, the capital of southern Ukraine's province of the same name. "The canal that supplied our water reservoir has also stopped flowing."

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko, Zelenskyy, Trudeau, Putin, Kateryna Filiuta, Dmytro Neveselyi, we'll Organizations: Ukraine Nature Conservation, Russian, Associated Press, Agriculture, Farmers Locations: Nova, Russia, Ukraine, Hola, Kherson, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarus, Ukraine's province, Kherson province, Maryinske

MEXICO CITY, June 2 (Reuters) - Mexico said on Friday it would counter U.S. arguments over agriculture biotech measures, including plans to limit its use of genetically modified (GM) corn, in trade dispute settlement consultations requested by Washington earlier in the day. If the consultations fail to resolve disagreements within 75 days, Washington can request a dispute settlement panel to decide the case. The United States requested formal trade consultations in March over objections to Mexico's plans to limit imports of GM corn and other agricultural biotechnology products. The new decree eliminated a deadline to ban GM corn for animal feed and industrial use, by far the bulk of its $5 billion worth of U.S. corn imports, but maintained a ban on GM corn used in dough or tortillas. Some sector experts have expressed concern that the move could set a precedent among other countries, which would disrupt the global corn trade.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, February's, Tom Haag, Cassandra Garrison, Adriana Barrera, Kylie Madry, Dave Graham, Ismail Shakil, Leslie Adler, William Mallard Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Washington, U.S, Trade Ministry, United, U.S . Trade, U.S ., Corn Growers Association, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, Canada, U.S, Washington, United States, Mexican, Mexico City, Ottawa

☆ Replanting the Amazon could slow global warming. Here’s why it’s hard
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +24 min

Milton da Costa Junior nosed his pickup through a remote stretch of the western Brazilian Amazon to check on his babies. Local authorities said the September 2021 incident, which Da Costa outlined in a police report that was reviewed by Reuters, is being investigated. Out of dozens of reforestation initiatives in the country, Rioterra and The Black Jaguar Foundation, a Brazilian-European group, are among the largest. Illegal invaders destroy in hours what it takes Rioterra or Black Jaguar a year to plant. In all, Black Jaguar has signed contracts with 26 farms and planted 326 hectares (806 acres) to date.

Persons: Milton da Costa, Da Costa, Carlos Nobre, Alexis Bastos, Rioterra, ”, Nobre, “, Bastos, Jamari, Dejesus Aparecido Ramos, it’s, ” Bastos, Jair Bolsonaro, Germany –, Bolsonaro, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Black, Ben Valks, Valks, Leandro Silveira, Silveira, São, ” Valks, aren’t, Cristina Banks, Leite, Marcos Mariani, Araguaia, Mariani, Tânia Irres, ” Irres, Regina Molke, I’ll, Clovis, Black Jaguar, Aquaverde, Renato Franklin, “ Ben, ” Franklin, L’Oreal, da Costa, ” Da Costa, da, Spring, Clare Trainor, Catherine Tai, Lais Morais, Ilan Rubens, Lucy Ha, John Emerson, Marla Dickerson Organizations: Milton da Costa Junior, Toyota, Reuters, Black Jaguar Foundation, National Institute for Space Research, Rioterra, Cultural, Environmental Studies, Petrobras, “, Amazon Fund, Environment Ministry, United, United Arab Emirates, São Paulo, Global, Farmers, Brazil’s Central Bank, Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, Imperial College London, Santana, Bolsonaro, United Nations, Space Agency, Copernicus, Sentinel Locations: Machadinho, Rondônia, Brazil, Germany, Brazilian, European, Manhattan, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Bastos, Porto Velho, droves, Rio, Black, Itapuã, Oeste, Norway, United Arab, Pará, Caixa, “, Costa, Syria, Paris, Santana, Araguaia’s, Clovis, Regina, United States, South, Geneva, Rio Preto, da Costa

MEXICO CITY, June 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. is escalating its conflict with Mexico over agriculture biotech measures, including the stance on genetically modified (GM) corn, by requesting dispute settlement consultations, senior officials of the U.S. Trade Representative's office said on Friday. If the consultations announced on Friday fail to resolve disagreements within 75 days, Washington can request a dispute settlement panel to decide the case. The United States requested formal trade consultations in March over objections to Mexico's plans to limit imports of GM corn and other agricultural biotechnology products. Earlier this week, Mexico's agriculture minister expressed confidence in an interview that the dispute with the U.S. would not escalate to a dispute settlement panel. The new decree eliminated the deadline to ban GM corn for animal feed and industrial use, by far the bulk of its $5 billion worth of U.S. corn imports, but maintained a ban on GM corn used in dough or tortillas.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Tom Vilsack, Tom Haag, Cassandra Garrison, Adriana Barrera, Ismail Shakil, Leslie Adler Organizations: MEXICO CITY, U.S . Trade, U.S, Trade Ministry, United, Economy Ministry, Agriculture, U.S ., Corn Growers Association, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, U.S, Mexico, Canada, Washington, United States, Mexico City, Ottawa

☆ Unilever pivots to African suppliers as forex pressure mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Seun Sanni | Richa Naidu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The war in Ukraine exacerbated supply chain logjams and manufacturing issues that began with the COVID-19 pandemic. Managing foreign exchange costs is largely what is driving a pivot to African suppliers, Unilever said, even though sourcing from the continent can cost more than buying from parts of Asia. “Over 95% of the brands we sell to our (African) consumers are made in African factories,” Reginaldo Ecclissato, Unilever’s chief business operations and supply chain officer, told Reuters. Today more than two-thirds of the ingredients that go into Unilever products sold in African markets come from the continent, the company said. Where is it on the scale of Unilever’s supply chain?” he said.

Persons: Kasali, ” Kasali, “, Knorr, Hellmann’s, Reginaldo, Tedd George, Nestle, ”, Pierre, André, Ecclissato, it’s, bouillon, Iranloye, Busari, Unilever’s Ecclissato Organizations: Reuters, Unilever, REUTERS, ” Unilever, Nestle, Danone, sorbitol Locations: ALAYIDE, Nigeria, Oyo, Africa, Ukraine, Asia, India, China, South Africa, Lagos, Oyo State

Most-active CBOT soybean futures shed 3.6% through May 16, and funds added gross shorts for a sixth consecutive week. That could mean money managers at Friday's close were net short soybean futures and options for the first time since April 2020. They have not held a net short for two or more consecutive weeks since March 2020. Money managers' all-time soybean net short of 168,835 futures and options contracts was set on May 14, 2019. CBOT wheat futures had been rallying mid-month due to uncertainty over the Black Sea grain deal, though Russia on Wednesday agreed to a two-month extension, allowing Ukraine to continue exports by sea.

☆ This startup uses volcanic rock to capture carbon for the likes of Stripe and Microsoft. Check out the 20-slide pitch deck Undo used to raise $12 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A startup speeding up a natural rock weathering process for carbon removal just raised $12 million. A startup spreading volcanic rock on farms as a form of carbon dioxide removal has just secured $12 million in its first institutional round led by Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital. "We get a 50,000-times increase in rates of reaction versus that natural process, and we can absorb far more CO2," Mann said. The startup makes money by selling carbon removal credits. Mann wants to help regulate the industry before others try selling enhanced rock weathering without fully understanding the process and what is required.

☆ Exclusive: Staff at top U.S. farm research center file complaint alleging unsafe work conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Leah Douglas | Thomson Reuters | Washington-Based Award-Winning Journalist Covering Agriculture | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

The Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) near Washington D.C. is the largest research facility owned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and has long been the flagship of U.S. farm research. “Our employees’ health and well-being is our top priority," a spokesperson at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), which oversees BARC, told Reuters. STAFF CUTSFounded in 1910, the BARC facility spans nearly 7,000 acres in Prince George’s County, Maryland, near the nation’s capital. The unreliable conditions are affecting research outcomes, making it at times impossible to complete experiments or replicate their findings, said two research employees. On February 22, several BARC employees met with Thomas Shanower, the director of USDA’s Northeast Area, a division that oversees 15 research centers, including BARC.

The Kansas wheat tour and its findings always prompt these questions: How does the tour yield compare with USDA’s May forecast? Since 2005 and including 2023, USDA’s May estimate for Kansas winter wheat yield was lower than the tour yield in all but three years: 2010, 2018 and 2019. USDA's May Kansas wheat yield vs tour yieldBefore 2021, the tour was always held before USDA’s May report, but it now takes place after. Compared with final Kansas winter wheat yields, the tour yields have been streaky. Kansas winter wheat yield: tour versus finalFinal Kansas wheat yield has come in higher than USDA’s May forecast in 11 of the last 15 years.

Farmers in Poland and other eastern European countries who held out for higher prices have been hit by a perfect storm. A jump in exports from Brazil and Russia helped to drive global grain prices lower while the EU opened its borders to tariff-free Ukrainian grain imports in a show of solidarity after Russia blocked the country's Black Sea ports. After opening its borders to Ukrainian grain, Poland imported 2.08 million tonnes of maize and 579,315 tonnes of wheat last year, up from just 6,269 tonnes of maize and 3,033 tonnes of wheat in 2021. If the grain corridor due to expire this month were to collapse, Ukrainian farmers would have little option but to send all their grain exports through eastern Europe. European wheat prices hit post-harvest highs in October 2022 of more than 350 euros a tonne but since then prices have dropped to pre-invasion levels of about 235 euros.

☆ Shrinking US cattle herd squeezes meatpacker profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Cargill, the world's largest ground beef producer, expects cattle prices will rise further, but it is still a question whether higher beef prices will ruin consumers' appetites, company executives said. Big profits for meatpackers during the pandemic and soaring beef prices fueled concerns in the Biden administration about consolidation and profiteering in the sector. The companies say supply and demand determine cattle and beef prices. In 2023, "the cattle feeder can negotiate more of the consumer dollar," said Brett Gottsch, managing partner Gottsch Cattle Co, which raises cattle in Nebraska. Gottsch remains concerned about a lack of competition among meatpackers, though others said surging cattle prices show the market works.

Catalonia, Spain CNN —Standing in his field of stunted, withered maize, Santi Caudevilla is very worried. It’s becoming increasingly hard to make ends meet as crops shrivel through lack of water – or cannot be planted at all. “This is the worst period that we have had for the last 100 years,” Samuel Reyes, director of the Catalan Water Agency, told CNN. Allison Nussbaum/NASA Allison Nussbaum/NASA These two images show shrinking water reservoirs in the Catalonia region of Spain. In April, Spain requested emergency funding from the European Union to help farmers cope with the impacts of the drought.

☆ African Farmers May Have a Coffee Robust Enough for the Climate Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The two coffee species that most of us drink — Arabica and robusta — are at grave risk in the era of climate change. Farmers in one of Africa’s biggest coffee exporting countries are growing a whole other coffee species that better withstands the heat, drought and disease supersized by global warming. This year, they’re trying to sell it to the world under its own true name: Liberica excelsa. “Even if there’s too much heat, it does fine,” said Golooba John, a coffee farmer near the town of Zirobwe in central Uganda. For the past several years, as his robusta trees have succumbed to pests and disease, he has replaced them with Liberica trees.

☆ Ukraine's cheap grain exports are causing an awkward rift with its European neighbors and staunch allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The move to ban Ukraine's agricultural imports has angered the European Union given that the bloc has sought to help Kyiv maintain its exports as an economic lifeline for the war-torn country. Slovakia's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development told CNBC that despite its temporary ban on Ukrainian imports, the country continued to be open for "solidarity transit," meaning that Ukrainian grain could still pass through its territory to other countries. The ministry added that "we would appreciate the whole-European solution [to] the Ukrainian grain because the topic is relating to the protection of the whole internal European market." It also said it recognized the impact of the "oversupply" of Ukrainian imports on EU farmers, particularly those in bordering nations. Ships, including those carrying grain from Ukraine and awaiting inspections, are seen anchored off the Istanbul coastline on November 02, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Crop Watch follows 11 corn and 11 soybean fields across nine U.S. states, including two each in Iowa and Illinois. As of Tuesday, four Crop Watch fields had been planted and a fifth, the Indiana soybeans, was in progress. Since 1980, U.S. corn planting progress has matched or exceeded 10% by April 16 only five times, most recently in 2016. Some notable corn planting progress by state as of Sunday include Illinois at 10%, Iowa 7%, Kansas 17% and Missouri 30%. The five-year average corn planting is 11% for April 23 and 26% for April 30.

☆ After growing GM corn for decades, some US farmers open to Mexican restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"I'm all for free and fair trade," said Fred Huddlestun, who grows GM corn and soybeans in Yale, Illinois. Supporters of the policy say GM corn can contaminate Mexico's age-old native varieties and have questioned its impact on human health. NCGA said GM corn is safe and it will fight all illegal trade barriers for farmers. But many would consider growing more non-GM corn, if the price were right. "You need to make it worth my while," said Illinois farmer Dave Kestel, who grows GM corn and sells seed for Corteva.

☆ U.S. trade chief Tai defends pursuit of non-traditional trade deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

She said past trade deals focused on "aggressive liberalization and tariff elimination" made the U.S. and other countries too dependent on China for critical materials. Her remarks come amid growing calls from U.S. business and agricultural trade groups for Congress to approve new "fast track" negotiating authority for USTR to pursue traditional free trade deals. These groups argue the U.S. is falling behind the growing network of free trade deals forged by China and the European Union in recent years, putting U.S. farmers and food companies at a disadvantage against many foreign competitors in key markets. Republicans in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives also pelted Tai with complaints about the lack of new tariff-reducing trade deals during hearings last month. Tai told reporters it has been difficult to explain the need to break away from the traditional vision of ever-liberalizing trade deals.

☆ U.S. trade chief Tai to defend pursuit of non-traditional trade deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Wednesday will defend the Biden administration's decision not to pursue traditional free trade deals and argue her approach of working to ease non-tariff barriers is better for workers and supply chain resilience. Her remarks come amid growing calls from U.S. business and agricultural trade groups for Congress to approve new "fast track" negotiating authority for USTR to pursue traditional free trade deals. These groups argue the U.S. is falling behind the growing network of free trade deals forged by China and the European Union in recent years, putting U.S. farmers and food companies at a disadvantage against many foreign competitors in key markets. Republicans in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives also pelted Tai with complaints about the lack of new tariff-reducing trade deals during hearings last month. Tai told reporters it has been difficult to explain the need to break away from the traditional vision of ever-liberalizing trade deals.

☆ War on cow farts is stinky but necessary job
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet, governments from New Zealand to Europe are zeroing in on livestock, whose burps and farts help generate 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year, United Nations estimates show. An industry backlash against plans to tackle the issue will teach punters to treat burgers as polluting fuel. Cattle is a major contributor to methane emissions from agriculture, which hit 142 metric tons in 2022, triple the amount of those from the oil sector, according to the International Energy Agency. But like fossil fuels ten years ago, this will be the start of a long but necessary battle. French dairy company Danone on Jan. 17 pledged to reduce methane emissions from its fresh milk supply chain by 30% by 2030 from its 2020 level.

☆ War on cow gas is stinky but necessary job in climate-change struggle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet, governments from New Zealand to Europe are zeroing in on livestock, whose burps and farts help generate 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year, United Nations estimates show. Cattle is a major contributor to methane emissions from agriculture, which hit 142 metric tons in 2022, triple the amount of those from the oil sector, according to the International Energy Agency. But like fossil fuels ten years ago, this will be the start of a long but necessary battle. CONTEXT NEWSEuropean Union countries agreed on March 16 to try to reduce the number of farms covered by proposed rules to cut pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from livestock. French dairy company Danone on Jan. 17 pledged to reduce methane emissions from its fresh milk supply chain by 30% by 2030 from its 2020 level.

Most-active CBOT soybeans on Wednesday fell to their lowest level since early December, ending nearly 6% off this month’s high. Money managers’ biggest weekly dumping of CBOT soy futures and options was about 61,400 contracts in November 2019, requiring double the weekly record for funds to be flat by the next report. Net selling in corn recently blew out a weekly record at more than 147,000 contracts in the last week of February, well past the prior high near 104,000. Despite catastrophic crop problems in Argentina, Brazil’s enormous harvest and equally enormous export program have recently weighed on the soybean market. However, the potential size of the 2023 U.S. soybean crop remains up for debate with farmers’ planting plans not yet known.

☆ Meet the 'methane man' with a mission: Using microbes to eat up the greenhouse gas
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Most recently, he's zeroed in on the idea of using methane-eating microbes to combat climate change. The startup was founded in 2022 and sells methane-eating microbes, or methanotrophs, to its pilot customers, farmers. "If you only look at the long term, and you don't spend anything on short term, you end up tripping over your feet," Silverman told CNBC. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Windfall’s propriety methane-eating microbes seen here under a microscope. First, they will move to other types of livestock farms, like cows, pigs and chickens, Silverman told CNBC.

Mexico published a presidential decree on genetically modified (GM) corn in late 2020, saying it would ban GM corn in the diets of Mexicans and end the use the herbicide glyphosate by Jan. 31, 2024. The new decree eliminated the deadline to ban GM corn for animal feed and industrial use, by far the bulk of its U.S. corn imports. The new plan bans only GM corn used for dough or tortillas but leaves the door open to gradually substituting GM corn for animal feed and industrial use in the future. Some sector experts have said they worry that Mexico's restriction on GM corn, if successful, could set a precedent, prompting other countries to take a similar approach and disrupting the global corn trade. Corn for human food use comprises about 21% of Mexico's corn imports from the U.S., according to a representative from the National Corn Growers Association, citing U.S. Grains Council data.

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - The United States has requested formal trade consultations with Mexico over U.S. objections to its southern neighbor's plans to limit imports of genetically modified corn and other agricultural biotechnology products. "We hope these consultations will be productive as we continue to work with Mexico to address these issues." The United States has previously threatened to take the issue to a trade dispute panel under the trilateral agreement with Mexico and Canada over the plan, which would ban genetically modified corn for human consumption. A USTR official said the talks would cover Mexico's planned rejection of GMO corn and other agricultural biotechnology products that have been shown to be safe in the United States and other countries for decades. Corn for food use comprises about 21% of Mexican corn imports from the U.S., a representative from the National Corn Growers Association said, citing U.S. Grains Council data.

Recent price trends imply better profitability for U.S. farmers to plant corn over soybeans this year, and both analysts and USDA agree corn acres will rise above the year-ago levels. USDA’s 91 million corn acres were nearly identical to the trade’s 90.9 million and above last year’s 88.6 million. I polled Twitter on Wednesday for the most likely surprise in this year’s intentions, offering choices of corn acres high or low or soybean acres high or low. Those long-term tables also had 2023 wheat plantings at 47.5 million acres, soybeans at 87 million and corn at 92 million. USDA’s trend corn yield is calculated with planting progress and summer weather assumptions.

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