Davao targets 1,000-ha. in extra land for coffee
THE government is hoping to upgrade the coffee bean crop by raising production in the Davao region and by improving the genetic quality of domestic output.
Bamboo designated ‘golden crop’ by Davao agri expo in September
DAVAO CITY -- This year’s Davao Agri-Trade Expo will promote the planting of so-called “golden crops,” which include cacao, coffee, coconut, corn, cassava, rice, banana, as well as bamboo.
Brazil cane crop size hard to gauge due to irregular rains
SAO PAULO -- Sugar market players in Brazil are diverging widely about the size of the 2018-19 cane crop in the center-south, the world’s largest sugar producing region, as erratic weather makes it difficult to assess the season’s likely final tally.
EPA to propose 19.88 billion gallon biofuels mandate, up 3%
THE US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will propose setting a 19.88-billion-gallon biofuels blending mandate in 2019 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), up about 3 percent from 2018, according to two sources briefed on the matter.
Australian banks face rural lending reckoning
SYDNEY -- Australian potato farmer Tom Fox says he had never missed a bank payment in two decades before a delay sending a shipment to Indonesia during a trade dispute between the countries prompted his lender to force him into receivership in 2013.
US feedlots draw more cattle than expected
CHICAGO -- Ranchers in May drove more cattle into U.S. feedlots than anticipated compared with the same period a year ago, said analysts after Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) monthly Cattle-On-Feed report.
Seed supply company targets growing urban farming market
VEGETABLE and flower seed producer and supplier East-West Seed Co. is planning to expand its portfolio by offering vertical farming solutions such as hydroponic units and smaller greenhouses to urban dwellers.
Cuba hopes to avoid importing sugar, will reduce future exports
HAVANA -- Cuba, short on sugar for domestic consumption after a disastrous harvest, hopes to avoid importing by drawing on its reserves and plans to begin the coming harvest early, industry officials told Reuters.
Brazil’s BRF board elects Chairman Parente as new CEO
SAO PAULO -- The board of Brazilian food processor BRF SA on Thursday elected Chairman Pedro Parente to the additional post of chief executive, the company said in a securities filing.
Japan suspends sale of Canadian wheat after GMO wheat discovered
TOKYO/WINNIPEG, MANITOBA -- Japan’s farm ministry said on Friday it has suspended its tender and sale of wheat from Canada after grain containing a genetically modified trait was discovered last summer in Canada’s Alberta province.
China trade spat sparks US soybean futures sell-off
CHICAGO -- US soybean futures plunged 2.5% to a one-year low on Friday on concerns that escalations in a trade fight with China would threaten shipments to the biggest buyer of the oilseed, traders said.
Mexico considering tariffs on billions of dollars of US corn, soybean imports
MEXICO CITY -- Mexico could strike at $4 billion in annual imports of US corn and soybeans if President Donald Trump escalates a trade spat with new tariffs, officials told Reuters this week, and it is studying how to reduce the pain of such a move.