Los Angeles | Reuters — California’s water board curtailed senior water rights on Friday in the state’s Delta, San Joaquin and Sacramento regions due to drought, in the first move of its kind during the current drought, officials said. The curtailment affects more than 100 senior water rights holders, with most of those located near […] Read more
California curtails some senior water rights due to drought
U.S. agency sees El Nino likely to last into 2016
New York | Reuters — A U.S. weather forecaster warned on Thursday the El Nino weather pattern that can cause droughts in Asia and heavy rain in the Americas will likely last into next year, longer than previously expected and potentially roiling crops and commodity prices. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), an agency of the […] Read more
Warming Pacific waters seen fuelling lengthy El Nino
Sydney | Reuters –– Pacific Ocean temperatures continue to warm, supporting El Nino weather conditions for the rest of 2015, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said Tuesday. An El Nino can have devastating consequences for agriculture globally, causing heavy rains and floods in South America and scorching weather in Asia and as far away as east […] Read more
Worst U.S. avian flu outbreak ever expands to Michigan
Chicago | Reuters — Michigan on Monday said Canada geese in the state tested positive for a lethal strain of bird flu, bringing the worst outbreak of the disease in U.S. history to a 21st state. Three young geese collected at Sterling Heights, Mich., about 35 km north of Windsor, Ont., were infected with the […] Read more
Monsanto sweetens Syngenta play with $2B break fee
New York | Reuters –– U.S. seed and ag chem firm Monsanto has offered to pay a US$2 billion reverse break-up fee to Syngenta if it can’t obtain global regulatory approvals for an acquisition, it said in a statement on Sunday. The move, under which Monsanto would pay the fee if regulators reject the proposal, […] Read more
CME bars grain traders for years over wash trades, spoofing
Chicago | Reuters –– CME Group said Friday it barred a grain trader from its markets for three years for executing noncompetitive transactions and suspended another for two years for market manipulation. The traders, Aleksey Vsemirnov and Stephen Duggan, could not immediately be reached for comment. Vsemirnov executed numerous non-competitive transactions in wheat, oats, rice, […] Read more
OIE cuts six European countries’ BSE risk level
Paris | Reuters — The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has lowered to the safest level the official risk of six countries for BSE, a move expected to open international market access for their beef exports. These countries are France, Ireland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Liechtenstein. OIE members in Paris last week eased […] Read more
USDA refuses farmers’ requests on avian flu vaccine
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday it would not allow commercial release of a poultry vaccine to fight the worst outbreak of bird flu in U.S. history because it was not effective enough. The agency said in a notice that additional criteria must be met before a vaccine can be […] Read more
Sources say BASF mulling potential bid for Syngenta
Reuters — German chemicals group BASF is considering a potential offer for Syngenta, its Swiss rival which has received a C$56 billion takeover offer from Monsanto, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. BASF is speaking to investment bankers about the possibility of an offer for Syngenta, though it has made no decision and […] Read more
Cuba produces best sugar harvest in 11 years
Havana | Reuters — Cuba’s sugar harvest grew 18 per cent this year to 1.9 million tonnes, the most for the beleaguered industry in 11 years and the best performance since the state sugar company Azcuba was founded in 2011, official media said on Friday. The Communist Party daily Granma said the harvest, which began […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
