Australia: $60m lift for farm research

Darren Gray

The Age

FARMING and farm-related research is expected to get a boost of more than $60 million in tomorrow's state budget, with new spending likely for major segments of Victorian agriculture including grains, red meat, dairy and stone fruit production.

The government is believed to be developing a four-year strategy to develop segments in which Victorian farmers have a competitive advantage over producers elsewhere. The program is believed to be the Coalition's successor to the Brumby government's ''Future Farming Strategy''.

The new farm program will be aimed at lifting productivity and profitability in some of the state's biggest agricultural export earners including dairy, lamb and beef production, and selected horticulture areas such as table grapes, almonds and stone fruit.

It is believed the program will include about $20 million to tackle pest animals, diseases and weeds that threaten agriculture. The grains industry funding, which could be more than $10 million, is expected to be aimed at improving plant genetics, product resilience and productivity.The program is likely to reflect themes that Premier Ted Baillieu espoused in an address to the Victorian Farmers Federation annual conference in Bendigo recently.

Mr Baillieu told farmers they were ideally placed to capitalise on demand for food from a surging Asian middle class. ''The rise of Asia, fuelled by a prosperous and growing Asian middle class … presents huge opportunities for Victoria,'' Mr Baillieu said.

Farmers are likely to welcome any additional spending on agriculture in the budget, but they are likely to wonder why the new program is far smaller than the former government's $205 million Future Farming Strategy.

Coffee prices fall on Brazil harvest expectations

(SFGate) Coffee prices fell to their lowest level in 18 months Monday on expectations that Brazilian growers will produce a robust harvest.

Coffee fell 4.5 cents to end at $1.747 per pound Monday. That's the lowest level since Oct. 7, 2010, when the price was $1.7345 per pound.

Good weather during the growing season has triggered speculation that Brazil will produce large quantities of coffee when the harvest gets under way in June. That is expected to offset lower production in Colombia, which has had large amounts of rainfall.

At the same time, demand appears to remain strong globally. That's causing some confusion among traders and analysts about where the market is headed, said Jack Scoville, vice president of Price Futures Group.

Despite the falling futures prices, coffee drinkers aren't likely to see much change at the retail level because businesses still are paying more to produce and ship products, analysts have said.

In other trading, prices for corn and wheat fell after weekend rains scattered across fields from the Dakotas to southern Texas. Although it's early in the planting season, the rains should benefit crops in the field and moisten fields that are being readied for planting, said Northstar Commodity analyst Jason Ward said. Investors speculated that could improve yields at harvest time.

Ukraine may export 20-25 million tonnes of grain

Ukraine is likely to harvest 45 to 50 million tonnes of grain in 2012 and its exports could reach 20 to 25 million tonnes in the 2012/13 marketing season, Ukrainian Farm Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk was quoted on Friday as saying.

Official newspaper Uryadovy Kurier quoted Prysyaznhyuk as saying Ukraine's exports could include up to 12.5 million tonnes of corn, up to 10 million tonnes of wheat and about 4 million tonnes of barley in 2012/13.

Ukraine, which consumes 26 million tonnes of grain per season, harvested a record 56.7 million tonnes in 2011 and has exported more than 17 million tonnes so far this season.

Prysyazhnyuk also said the slow pace of exports this season would cause a rise in Ukraine's ending grain stocks to about 11 million tonnes against the average 5-6 million tonnes in previous seasons.

The minister gave no details of the 2012 grain harvest outlook.

Trawler battles waves for prawn haul

By Stephen Rogers

Irish Examiner

Despite coastguard warnings of "huge waves whipped up by high seas" this fishing trawler was determined not to be prevented from going in search of its haul.

The John B and its six-man crew left Howth yesterday evening to begin a 10-day stint fishing for prawns. 

Boat owner William Price told the Irish Examiner: "It’s a case of life and limb and just go for it." 

Mr Price, who co-owns a fleet of trawlers along with his brother Patrick, said the John B had to go out in spite of the weather because "we are geared to a certain amount of days at sea now due to the way the economy and the EU is pressing us". 

"They go off wherever the fishing is," he said. 

"No matter where it is in Ireland, they go. They literally have to go around the clock whenever they can because of the limited days at sea. We are even governed to certain times going out." 

Mr Price said there was a very sustainable prawn fishing industry in Ireland. 

"It is generating. With the amount of vessels that have been taken out, the boys who actually stayed in it are starting to make a living," he said. 

"But we are restricted to our days at sea and you either go for it or you lose them. There is no respect for bad weather. We used to have the comfort that if it was bad weather you stayed in. You did not put life and limb at risk. In today’s environment we have to ignore weather and just go to sea. Then you are putting both your crew and boat in peril. But that’s life." 

The 60ft John B is a €2m vessel which, according to Mr Price, has been purpose-built for the type of fishing it engages in. It featured in RTÉ’s Skippers programme. 

Just as the John B was taking to the water, the Irish coast guard issued a warning to the public about the dangers of posed by the stormy conditions which were due to batter the coast into the evening and today. Winds were gusting to gale force 9 overnight with local flooding expected in different parts of the country. 

"The coastguard strongly advise the public not to go out on exposed coasts, cliffs, piers, harbour walls, beaches, promenades or any other coastal areas during the inclement weather," said a spokesman. "Huge waves can be whipped up by high seas. These waves can pose hazards to anyone close to the shoreline. The combination of tides, forecasted gale warnings for the next day or so, high sea conditions and swollen rivers may result in very dangerous conditions." 

Met Éireann has forecast that the winds will ease this evening, though it will be very cold overnight with temperatures barely above zero degrees in some parts. 

The unsettled weather is forecast to continue throughout the weekend and into next week with frequent, heavy downpours of rain affecting most parts of the country.

Biotech corn set for rapid Asia expansion: Syngenta

Major Asian buyers led by China are set to approve genetically modified corn within the next three to five years to give yields a boost as growing demand for meat drives greater consumption of the staple, the world's top agrochemicals company said.

Changing diets and greater wealth are pushing up demand for corn, a key source of animal feed, in Asia.

But local yields are not enough to meet demand, triggering imports and inflation.

This is accelerating the push to improve yields and food security, said Davor Pisk, chief operating officer for Basel-based Syngenta, one the world's top seed firms.

China's corn yields are half those of the United States, and the world's second biggest consumer and grower of corn is becoming increasingly reliant on imports.

Domestic firms are likely to introduce GM corn by 2017 or earlier.

"I would personally expect that within the next 4 to 5 years we will see GM corn commercialized in China," Pisk told Reuters in an interview in Singapore.

He said the government wanted to be certain there was public confidence in GM first as well as ensuring local firms had the technology to pioneer GM crops.

Other countries held strong sales potential for GM seeds and chemical products that kill weeds and pests, Hardeep Grewal, Syngenta's head of corn marketing for the Asia-Pacific, said in a separate interview in Singapore.

"My belief is that over the next 3 to 5 years, you will see the use of GM technology fairly widespread with small-scale growers in the Asia-Pacific," Grewal said.

And China held huge promise.

China over the next 15 years needed about 80 million to 100 million tonnes of additional corn production a year, he said.

"In order to meet that requirement, yields in China have to go up by about 2 to 3 tonnes per hectare.

It's quite a challenge.

It means yields have to go up 50 to 60 percent."

Yields are currently about 5 tonnes per hectare.

China is expected to produce 198.7 million tonnes of corn in 2011/12, up from 183.5 million tonnes a year ago, according to the US Department of Agriculture data.

Benchmark US corn futures have climbed 5 percent from a three-month low of $5.99-1/2 a bushel, driven by China's purchases and tight old-crop corn supplies, expected to shrink to the lowest in 16 years by the end of summer.

China, which has emerged as a buyer in the past few years, has already bought more than 4 million tonnes of US corn this season and has been trying to widen its sources of supply with an agreement to buy Argentine corn signed in February.

Vietnam, one of the world's fastest growing feed grain markets, was on track to give Syngenta approval for GM corn by the end of 2013, with yield increases of up to 40 percent possible, Pisk said.

After Vietnam's expected approval, Pakistan, India and Indonesia were likely to be next.

"Pakistan have already given the cultivation approvals.

Now it has to go through the environment and food safety approvals.

So they are pretty well advanced," Grewal said.

"So I would say Pakistan, and then Indonesia and India probably around the same time-frame, 2014 to 2015."

Asian rice prices rise on limited supply, intervention

Asian rice prices rose on the prospect of limited supplies as the Vietnam harvesting season was ending, while Thailand accelerated its intervention scheme by building up greater rice stocks to prop up prices, traders and exporters said on Wednesday.

The Vietnam Food Association has asked exporters to aim for higher export prices following the harvest end, which has partly pushed up quotations this week, an exporter in Ho Chi Minh City said.

"Prices jumped as the harvest is ending and on expectations that domestic prices will rise after holidays," a trader in Ho Chi Minh City said, referring to the national holidays on Monday and Tuesday next week.

Vietnam's 5 percent broken rice rose to $430-$440 a tonne, free-on-board basis, from last week's $425.

The 25-percent broken variety also jumped to $400-$410 a tonne, from $370-$380.

Traders said there was steady demand for Vietnamese rice that helped support its prices at a time that supply was limited as the harvesting season is about to end.

Farmers in the delta have nearly completed harvesting 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) of the winter-spring crop and would end the process next week.

The crop is Vietnam's highest yielding, with grain used mostly for export.

Australian wheat stocks fall nine percent

Australian wheat stocks fell by 9 percent in March from February, government data on showed on Tuesday, as exports by the world's fourth-biggest shipper picked up pace led by sales of higher quality milling wheat.

Traders forecast that exports would remain strong over the next few months.

Australia is the top exporter to Indonesia and also a major seller to Korea and Japan, while Chinese exports are expected to grow.

Australia's bulk storage of wheat fell 2 million tonnes from the previous month to 21.3 million tonnes at the end of March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.

Canadian canola futures rise

ICE Canadian canola futures rose on Friday, led by nearby months climbing to contract highs due to tight old-crop supplies and farmer plans for record canola seeding.

End users seen covering shorts for nearby months, while farmers hold on to remaining supplies in storage as planting begins.

May canola touched the highest price for a nearby contract since July, 2008; is on pace for its biggest weekly gain in four weeks.

May canola rose $8.00 to a contract high of $653 per tonne on thin volume of 141 contracts at 8:12 am CDT (1312 GMT).

Open interest was thin, around 5,600 contracts, ahead of delivery next week.

July canola gained $5.80 to $637.40 per tonne on volume of 619 contracts.

New-crop November added $4.30 to $582 per tonne on 1,130 contracts.

Traders see nearby canola up $6 to $8 at Chicago Board of Trade open.

CBOT soybeans called to open up 10 to 12 US cents per bushel, on brisk US sales to China and waning South American crop size.

MATIF May rapeseed gained 0.8 percent at 8:10 am CDT (1310 GMT).

The Canadian dollar was trading early at 0.9812 against the US dollar, or US $1.0192, up from Thursday's finish at $0.9840 versus the US currency, or US $1.0163.

US light crude oil was flat early at $104.49 per barrel.

Thai raw sugar premiums at five-month high; consumers resurface

Thai raw sugar premiums jumped to a five-month high as trading houses jacked up the value to compensate for losses in New York, while Indian white sugar prices were stuck in a range before the release of new export permits, dealers said on Tuesday.

Premiums for Thai high-polarisation, or hi-pol, raw sugar stood at 130 to 135 points to New York's front-month May contract, higher than 80 points last week.

Premiums and futures move in opposite directions.

But lower global prices raised hopes of renewed buying interest from main consumers such as China, which is likely to import 3 million tonnes of sugar in the current crop year, according to the International Sugar Organisation.

"I think these lower prices are bringing in more demand.

It's not only in Asia but also worldwide.

Egypt, for instance, did buy some sugar," said a dealer in Bangkok.

The physical market was also abuzz with talk that China could be returning soon as New York's May contract plunged to an 11-month low at 21.78 cents on Monday on abundant global supplies.

"I can see there's some demand.

Egypt bought sugar.

There seems to buying interest from China, although I don't think I have the details," said another dealer in Singapore.

Egypt's state-owned Sugar and Integrated Industries Company (SIIC) bought in a weekend tender 50,000 tonnes of Brazilian raw sugar at $534 per tonne, CIF, for July shipment.

Thai J-spec, or raw sugar favoured by Japanese consumers, was quoted at premiums of up to 80 points to New York futures, up from 45 points last week.

Thailand is the world's second-largest sugar exporter after Brazil.

Thai white sugar premiums rose to $45 a tonne to London's August contract from $23-$27 last week, but the whites market has been quiet in recent weeks because of competition from India.

Top consumer India is expected to produce enough of sugar in the next production season to allow exports for a third consecutive year, according to the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) Indian white sugar was quoted at $610 a tonne, slightly higher than last week's $600 a tonne.

ISMA is pushing for the government to allow another 1 million tonnes of exports to help trim bulging inventories, which would bring total exports for the season to 4 million tonnes.

India has so far exported 2 million tonnes and agreed to export another 1 million tonnes which is awaiting details of quota allocation to mills.

"We don't know when the licenses will come out, and there are rumours they won't be available before May 10," the second dealer in Singapore said.

"The thing is that some guys still have not shipped out sugar from the previous license.

Also, they are not selling their cargo cheap even though global prices have dropped."

Canadian farmers to plant more wheat than expected

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Canadian farmers intend to plant nearly a million acres more wheat than the industry expected in the first year of an open grain market, along with a record-large canola crop, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday in its initial forecast of 2012 planting intentions.

Drier-than-normal weather in Western Canada, stretching back to last summer, brought millions of previously flooded acres back into production this spring, lifting plantings of most major crops.

All-wheat plantings may rise 13 percent to 24.3 million acres from last year's 21.5 million acres, blowing away the average trade estimate of 23.4 million acres in the first year farmers can sell their wheat or barley to buyers other than the Canadian Wheat Board.

(Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/vak77s)

A new Canadian law will end the Wheat Board's 69-year-old marketing monopoly on western wheat and durum for export or human consumption on August 1, allowing farmers to sell their next crops to any buyer, not just the CWB.

Manitoba farmer Doug Chorney, who heads Keystone Agricultural Producers, said farmers' bullishness about wheat is less about the marketing change than high prices.

"I've been able to forward-sell my spring wheat at very good prices. Producers are fairly bullish on wheat this year," he said.

Some farmers who pushed Ottawa for years to create an open wheat market are expanding wheat acres because of the monopoly ending, but others are guided by prices, said Norm Hall, who will plant wheat, flax, canola and peas near Wynyard, Saskatchewan this spring. He is president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan.

Chorney said farmers have to grow some cereal grains for rotational reasons, and he switched all of his cereal seeding plans to spring wheat instead of oats because of better returns.

Canada is the biggest exporter of spring wheat, durum, oats and canola.

Statistics Canada surveyed 13,432 farmers across the country between March 23 and 30. However, planting has just started in pockets of the Prairies.

"I don't think the numbers will be taken all that seriously yet," said Ken Ball, a commodity broker at Union Securities in Winnipeg. "It's an intentions report, not an acreage report, and farmers continue to make changes to acreage plans all through April."

Durum wheat area looks to span 5.1 million acres, up 27 percent from last year and a big jump from the average trade estimate of 4.5 million acres for the wheat used in making pasta.

The area set for spring wheat, used in baking, looks to expand a more modest 9 percent to 17.2 million acres.

Minneapolis December spring wheat futures were higher in early trading Tuesday, but lagged gains in the winter wheat traded in Chicago and Kansas City.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday that U.S. spring wheat plantings were more than half complete, far ahead of the usual pace.

Weather during the next four months will ultimately determine how big Canada's autumn wheat harvest will be, but the jump in acres points toward larger production.

Assuming normal levels of abandoned acres and yields, Canadian all-wheat production could total nearly 27 million metric tonnes (29.7 million tons) this year, the largest in four years, and about 4 percent of the global wheat harvest.

Canola acres will reach 20.4 million acres, up from last year's record-large area of 18.9 million acres, and in line with the average trade estimate of 20.6 million acres.

It would be the sixth straight year farmers have raised the record planting level.

With canola prices not far off contract highs, the oilseed stands to possibly snatch more acres back from wheat and barley, said Keith Ferley, a commodity trader at RBC Capital Markets.

ICE Canada November new-crop canola futures extended their gains after the report. Strong demand for vegetable oil, the most lucrative use for canola, has driven up demand for the oilseed from Canadian crushers and exporters.

Oat plantings look to be 3.4 million acres, just as traders forecast, and compared to 3.1 million acres a year ago.

Statscan expects farmers to plant 8 million acres of barley, up by nearly one-quarter from last year, and higher than trade expectations for 7.7 million acres.

US Senate panel approves 5-year food and farm plan

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday approved a half-trillion dollar farm and food plan that ends the practice of paying farmers for crops they don't grow.

The five-year bill, which would supplant the current farm act set to expire in September, also shifts the agricultural safety net to crop insurance, consolidates conservation programs and takes aim at abuses in the federal food stamp program.

The measure would cut the federal deficit by $23 billion, when compared with spending projections under the current farm bill, with $4 billion of that coming from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. That's accomplished by such steps as ending misuse by college students and cracking down on retailers and recipients trafficking in benefits. Food stamps, now received by more than 46 million Americans, take up about 80 percent of the spending in the bill.

The 16-5 vote was the first step in what could be an arduous road to presenting the president with a new bill before the old one expires in five months. The Senate Democratic leadership must decide how to fit the bill into a crowded floor schedule, and then the bill faces what could be considerable resistance in the House, where the Republican majority is pressing for more extensive cuts to food stamps and other farm bill programs.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and the top Republican on the panel, Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, also must deal with a rebellion from Southern senators, who say the dramatic shift from direct payments to a system based on crop insurance and a new federal risk management program discriminates against Southern crops, particularly rice and peanuts.

As currently written, said Sen. John Boozman, a Republican from the rice-growing state of Arkansas, the bill "will have a devastating impact on Southern agriculture."

Of the five voting against the bill, four were Southern Republicans. The fifth was Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who expressed concerns about cuts to food stamps and to changes in dairy policy.

"We realize we are not there yet," said Stabenow, who added that she had talked to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Wednesday about advancing the bill to the floor.

The biggest change under the bill would be the end of direct payments, which aren't tied to a farmer planting a crop and cost about $5 billion a year, replacing them with a "shallow loss" program that pays farmers when modestly decreasing yields or declining prices result in a farmer's revenue falling below historic averages.

For more serious losses, farmers would rely on crop insurance. On average, 60 percent of crop insurance premiums are subsidized by the government.

India Spices Review: Pepper, cardamom falls on higher margins, fall in demand

MUMBAI (Commodity Online): India's spices for the of month of April (2nd to 27th April) traded on negative note. Chilli, coriander and cardamom fell by double digit figure, according to market review.

In India's National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), for June delivery during 2nd April to 27th April, Chilli traded down 17.26% to Rs 4840 per qtl, coriander down 16.63% to Rs 3814, jeera down 2.12% to Rs 12, 312.50, pepper fell 3.37% to Rs 38,950 and turmeric down 14.58% to Rs 3666 per qtl.

And in India's Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), cardamom for June delivery traded down 16.98% to Rs 1145.60 per qtl during the period.

India's Forward Market Commission (FMC) levied 15% special margin on agri-commodities to avoid unwanted volatility in the exchange is also attributed for the price dip.

According reports, pepper prices fell on the domestic exchange due to lower export demand on increased production in Indonesia and Vietnam. The global pepper production in 2012 is expected to increase 7.2% to 3.20 lakh tons as compared to 2.98 lakh tons in 2011.

While, domestic consumption of Pepper in the world is expected to grow by 3.03% to 1.25 lakh tons which is far below the supply.

Jeera traded down slightly lower for the month on increased arrivals in the domestic market. Improved demand has saved the commodity further fall in prices.

Turmeric traded down on high production and low demand. The production for the year 2011-12 is projected at historical high of 82 lakh bags (1 bag= 70 kgs) compared to 69 lakh bags in 2010-11.

The cardamom prices are down desipte lower production on lacklustre domestic and international demand. The prices are likely rebound as the bad weather in major producing regions still persists and also the exports are likely pick up in coming months.

In NCDEX, for June Delivery, chilli traded up 0.5% to Rs 4842 per qtl, coriander traded up 0.29% to Rs 3825 per qtl, jeera down 0.2% to Rs 12252.5 per qtl, pepper traded up 0.87% to Rs 37525 per qtl and turmeric traded up 0.44% to Rs 3682 per qtl on 28th April at 12:15 IST.

And In MCX, Cardamom for June delivery traded down 2.435 to Rs 1117.80 per qtl on Saturday

Dog Food Recalled For Salmonella; Health Alert Issued

The Ohio Department of Agriculture is issuing a health alert urging consumers to use caution when handling pet foods.

On April 10, Diamond Pet Food issued a recall for a limited number of dry dog food bags.

Thursday, that recall was expanded to include certain lots of its Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul dog food.

Laboratory analysis completed by ODA's Consumer Protection Laboratory showed the pet food tested positive for salmonella contamination. 

"People typically contract a Salmonella infection by ingesting food or water that has been contaminated," said Dr. Beverly Byrum, ODA Laboratory Director. "In this case, however, an infection can occur by putting objects or fingers that have touched a contaminated product, such as pet food, into the mouth or by touching a pet or, in extreme cases, a person, that is infected."

Pets that have eaten food contaminated with salmonella may also become ill.

Signs of an infection in a pet include decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain.

If left untreated, pets may also become lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and may vomit.

EU-Morocco fishing agreement expected to be settled

The head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Magrama), Miguel Arias Cañete, says the negotiations that were resumed last week by the Commissioner of Fisheries of the European Union (EU), Maria Damanaki, and the Government of Morocco to subscribe a new fisheries agreement are steadily being developed and without "great difficulties."

The Spanish minister expressed his hope that the agreement will be closed before the end of June 2012.

Until that date, there remain in force the aids granted to the Spanish fishing fleet affected by the cancellation of the agreement, in December 2011, when the European Parliament (EP) decided to veto it.

"The news we have is positive, the development of the talks should allow the closure of the agreement within the first half of this year, as it had been planned," pointed out Arias Cañete.

"There are no major technical difficulties right now. The financial compensations are being negotiated and I think there should not be many difficulties as to the negotiating and the settlement [of the agreement] on schedule," the Spanish minister added.

The Government of Spain intends to settle negotiations "quickly" so that fishing vessels can soon "take up fishing activities again" in Moroccan waters.

After the blockade imposed by the EP, Brussels authorized Spain to direct part of the European funds collected to support the fishermen affected by the stoppage.

661 Spanish crew members affected by the cancellation of the covenant have received EUR 45 a day for six months, from 14 December, 2011.

Meanwhile, the ship owners of the 69 affected vessels are compensated with EUR 100 per day, stated the Spanish government.

ICE opens coffee grading In June for Brazil arabicas

NEW YORK: Brazilian arabica coffee can be graded by ICE Futures US on June 1, ahead of the first opportunity to deliver it on the coffee "C" futures contract in March 2013, the exchange said in a release on Friday.

Arabica coffee grown in Brazil will trade at a 900-point differential under par.

ICE first announced in December 2010 that it would allow delivery of the beans from Brazil, the world's biggest coffee producer.

The grading will be on the eCOPS system and all functions of the system will be available for Brazilian stock, with the exception of issuing notices, ICE stated.

The issuance of notices will be available beginning February 2013, for the March 2013 contract.

Indonesia halts some beef imports over mad cow scare

JAKARTA - Indonesia yesterday suspended some United States beef imports shipped after April 24 following the discovery of mad cow disease in California, breaking ranks with other nations that have maintained trade since the case was detected.

The ban covers meat and bone meal, innards, boned meat and gelatin derived from bones, according to Mr Syukur Iwantoro, director-general of animal husbandry at the Agriculture Ministry. "Pure meat" will still be allowed.

South-east Asia's largest economy only accounted for 0.6 per cent of US beef exports worth about US$17 million (S$21 million) last year, according to US government figures.

"We will lift the ban as soon as the US can assure us its dairy cows are free of mad cow disease," said Indonesia's Vice-Agriculture Minister Rusman Heriawan. 

"It could be one month or one year," he told reporters. "It depends on how long it takes to resolve this case."

Reaction elsewhere in Asia was muted with no immediate signs some of the biggest consumers would follow suit.

South Korea, the world's fourth-largest importer of US beef, said it was stepping up inspections, while Homeplus, one of two major South Korean retailers that had suspended sales of US beef on Wednesday, ended the suspension yesterday.

There were no plans to ban imports to South Korea following the Indonesian announcement, said Mr Jeon Jong Min, director of the Agriculture Ministry's quarantine policy division. "We make a decision based on our independent evaluations," he said. 

Japan, the world's third-largest consumer of US beef and veal, earlier said the country's import policy was unchanged.

The first US case in six years was found in a dairy cow. The US authorities have said there was no danger that its meat would enter the food chain. Agencies

Today Online

1st IMV Seminar on Poultry Reproduction

FRANCE - IMV organized its first seminar on poultry reproduction in its new headquarters in l’Aigle, on 18 and 19 April. A total of 87 people registered for the event.

IMV reports that the vast majority of the French professionals and specialists involved in Poultry reproduction and Artificial Insemination participated in addition to 20 attendees from different countries including Germany, India, Italy, Holland, Brazil, United Kingdom, Tunisia and Egypt. 

This seminar was held with the partnership from several leading companies involved in the poultry industry (genetics, insemination or sexing service providers, nutrients...) was a real success. 

IMV reports that the event started Wednesday by a complete visit of the IMV manufacturing facility, followed by a presentation of IMV’s vision for animal reproduction with a particular focus on poultry breeding.

According to IMV, Thursday was dedicated to the actual scientific and technical meetings during which current and future challenges facing the AI industry were addressed and how new technologies could play a critical role in helping overcome them. 

Presentations from Dr JP Brillard, Dr C Soyer and Dr Cariou covered the fundamentals of turkey and duck reproduction / AI as well as the importance of good management practices to maximize performance. 

Dr Briere, Dr Noirault then discussed best practices, animal welfare, Human work condition improvement and male management to maximize semen production.

Last but not least the presentations from Guy Delhomme and Kees Zuidberg gave the audience a peek at what lays ahead for us in poultry semen analysis and cryopreservation. 

This event was more than a real success and showcase for IMV: - It was a real opportunity for the industry professionals to meet and exchange. 

All the attendees are looking forward to next edition.

The Poultry Site

Brazilian Congress adopts controversial land use law

By Maria Carolina Marcello

Peter Murphy

• Eases rules on amount of forest farmers must preserve
• Millions of hectares to be reforested under new rules
• Farm lobby defeats Rousseff gov't, which opposed final bill
• Rousseff may veto the bill, could spark fight with Congress

(Reuters) - Brazil's Congress voted late on Wednesday to ease rules mandating the amount of forest farmers must keep on their land, delivering a long-sought victory to the country's powerful agriculture lobby and a political defeat for President Dilma Rousseff.

Though the bill will require millions of hectares of already cleared land to be replanted, environmentalists say it makes it too easy for farmers, responsible for much of the deforestation of the Amazon and other swaths of environmentally sensitive land in recent decades, to comply with regulations that stipulate how much forest they must preserve.

Rousseff still has the option to veto the bill, one of the most controversial to pass Brazil's Congress in recent years. The bill was supported by some of her party's lawmakers and members of its multi-party coalition, even though the president had previously vowed to veto earlier versions of the law that contained provisions perceived as too lenient on farmers who have cleared woodlands to make way for crops.

The final law, which was changed dramatically from a hard-bargained version her government was backing, will leave it up to federal states to decide how much forest needs to be replaced along riversides, making it possible for big farming states to make only minimal demands of growers.

"The approved bill gives a total and unrestricted amnesty to those who deforested ... and goes against what the government itself had wanted," environmental group Greenpeace said in a statement. "If (Rousseff) doesn't react and veto this text, this future will be her legacy," it said.

Pushing through the more lenient language the farming lobby sought was only possible through a rebellion by lawmakers from within the government coalition.

Global food prices rose 8pc from Dec ’11 to Mar ’12

The global food prices increased by 8.0 percent from December 2011 to March 2012 due to higher oil prices, adverse weather conditions, and Asia’s strong demand for food imports, according to the World Bank Group’s latest Food Price Watch report.

The World Bank’s Global Food Price Index was only 1.0 percent below a year ago and 6.0 percent below the February 2011 historic peak. If the current forecasts for increased food production do not materialise, global food prices could reach higher levels, underscoring the need to remain very vigilant.

“After four months of consecutive price declines, food prices are on the rise again threatening the food security of millions of people,” said World Bank Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Otaviano Canuto. “Putting food first must remain a priority for the international community and in our work in developing countries.”

According to the quarterly Food Price Watch report, prices of all key staples increased between last December and March of this year, except for rice, due to both abundant supply and strong competition among exporters. Maize prices increased by 9.0 percent, soybean oil by 7.0 percent, wheat by 6.0 percent, and sugar by 5.0 percent. Crude oil prices rose by 13 percent.

In addition, domestic food prices remained high, especially in Africa as the result of a combination of large food imports and local factors, such as trade restrictions between neighbours, hoarding, civil unrest, high fuel transportation costs and bad weather conditions.

In a global context, domestic food price increases have been larger than price declines across countries. Wheat prices from March 2011 to March 2012 rose 92 percent in Belarus, while the price of maize increased by 82 percent in Malawi, 80 percent in Ethiopia, and 71 percent in Mexico.

Production outlooks remained strong for 2012-13 and a number of factors have kept pressures on prices at bay. Record prices in late 2010 and early 2011 led to increased production of major crops worldwide, and are a key factor in the strong projections for the 2012-13 season. The slowdown in maize use for ethanol production in the US and weak global demand due to the euro crisis are contributing to keeping upward price pressures on check.

In response to drought in the Horn of Africa, the World Bank Group (WBG) is providing $1.8 billion to save lives, improve social protection, and foster economic recovery and drought resilience.

A first-of-its-kind risk management product, provided by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), will enable protection from volatile food prices for farmers, food producers, and consumers in developing countries.

The Global Food Crisis Response Programme is helping 40 million people in 47 countries through $1.5 billion in support.

The WBG is boosting spending on agriculture to some $6 billion to $8 billion a year from $4 billion in 2008.

Supporting the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme, set up by the WBG in April 2010 at G20’s request. Seven countries and the Gates Foundation have pledged about $1.1 billion over three years, with $612 million received.

The WBG is coordinating with UN agencies through the High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis and with non-governmental organisations.

Advocacy for more investment in agriculture research — including through the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research – and monitoring agricultural trade to identify potential food shortages.

Supporting improved nutrition among vulnerable groups through community nutrition programmes aimed at increasing use of health services and improving care giving. As part of its response to the food crisis, the Bank has supported the provision of some 2.3 million school meals every day to children in low income countries.

IFC will invest up to $1 billion in the Critical Commodities Finance Programme, aimed to support trade in key agricultural and energy-related goods, to help reduce the risk of food and energy shortages, as well as improve food security for the world’s poorest.