CHICAGO -- US farmers planted more corn than expected despite heavy rains and flooding that market watchers had said kept farmers out of the fields for much of the spring, the US government said on Friday.

NEW DELHI -- Indian farmers have planted 14.7 million hectares with summer-sown crops, down almost 10% from the previous year, the farm ministry’s data showed on Friday, as weak monsoon rains delayed sowing in most parts of the country.

BEIJING -- As many as half of China’s breeding pigs have either died from African swine fever or been slaughtered because of the spreading disease, twice as many as officially acknowledged, according to the estimates of four people who supply large farms.

THE LIVESTOCK Philippines trade show has been postponed to 2020 at the request of the industry and the Department of Agriculture amid fears the exhibition may serve as a vehicle for spreading African Swine Fever (ASF), organizers said.

BAN NONG TOR, THAILAND/SINGAPORE -- Looking out at his empty, red-earth field, Thai farmer Puang Timdon said his two-week-old maize crop didn’t stand a chance against the fall armyworm pest.

EAST-WEST Seed Group said rice farmers must consider diversifying their crops to improve their income in the face of liberalized rice imports.

CHICAGO -- The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday announced a new measure to help farmers who were unable to plant corn and soybeans due to widespread flooding across the US Midwest.

BUENOS AIRES -- Argentine farmers are expected to plant 6.5 million hectares of wheat in the 2019/20 season, the government said in a report on Friday, citing good rainfall as the reason for the increase from its previous forecast of 6.46 million hectares.

NEW YORK -- US President Donald Trump has directed members of his Cabinet to review the administration’s expanded use of waivers exempting small refineries from the nation’s biofuel policy, after hearing from farmers angry about the issue during his recent Midwest tour, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

THE Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) said it will finalize after a key meeting this week the guidelines for funding the farm mechanization component of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

PERDUE FOODS, one of America’s largest chicken producers, said it will sell frozen chicken nuggets mixed with cauliflower, chickpeas and plant protein to address a growing demand for products combining meat and vegetables.

DAVAO CITY -- Mexico is exploring the possibility of exporting Hass avocados and limoncito, a citrus-like fruit, to Davao City, according to Mexico Ambassador Gerardo Lozano.