A January 12 grain yield estimate revision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has slumped corn and soybean prices. On what is usually the most important grain market announcement each January, the 2024 USDA grain report caught traders unawares. Opposite to expectations of corn holding to the November projection of a record 15.23 billion bushels, the new...
Maine lobster fishermen will be mandated to install electronic trackers to help reduce the entrapment of the nearly decimated North Atlantic right whale. Some New England lobster harvesters have already reacted negatively to the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game Division (DMF)’s call. However, despite a pending court case on the matter, the enforcement is nevertheless ongoing. Supporting...
The Pacific northwest apple harvest in Washington ended November 2023, with the Pink Lady variety picked last. The latest comprehensive storage report in January 2024 shows that galas accounted for 20% of the total output. Gala apples enjoy the distinction of being the first to harvest in the Washington apple season around August each year. Thanks...
At a time when UK sheep prices are increasing while the national flock is reducing, a new sheep sensation is in town. This is Fiona, an ewe dubbed the “world’s loneliest sheep” and now a mental health ambassador. After spending 24 months on the cliffs of Cromarty Firth, Scotland, the heavy-fleeced Fiona got rescued in November 2023. Braving 820...
South Africa’s table grape data for week 1, 2024 shows some 11% rise in inspected volumes and a 4% decrease in exports. At the heart of these figures are the South African Table Grape Industry (SATI) and the Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB). Both entities gun for “world class export standards.” Since 1926, PPECB has been insuring...
Fresh banana exports from Cambodia reached 290,000 metric tonnes (MT) in the 2023 market year. Despite experiencing a decrease of 21% in total shipments year-on-year, bananas were still among the four biggest agricultural exports. Irrespective of the quantity drop, domestic prices are unaffected. Bananas in Phnom Penh were costing $1.83 per kg on January 10,...
Agricultural exports from India will increase in 2024 irrespective of price and export curbs on onions, rice, wheat and sugar. This is per a trade ministry’s statement on January 8, 2024. Trade minister, Piyush Goyal said that India’s agricultural exports reached $53 billion in the 2022/23 fiscal period and will improve in 2024. The expected boon for the 2023/24 period may,...
Michigan’s deer hunting season ended January 6, 2024 with a year-on-year decrement of 11% in harvested game. Around 590,000 hunters participated in the 2023 firearm deer meat harvest and bagged some 273,775 deer. In comparison, hunters in 2022 fell 303,082 antlered, whitetail and other deer species. The decline for 2023 occurred mostly in Upper Peninsula, an elevated forested area on the...
Mexico’s mango farmers overcame the El Niño and drought to harvest a record 2.23 million tonnes, 0.03% more than 2022’s. The Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry (Sader) stated that the momentous harvest also dwarfed that of 10 years ago by 39%. Back in 2013, the count had peaked at 1.604 million mangoes. This 2023 harvest had also...
Small and medium-size farming enterprises in Ohio will receive $12.4 million from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Ohio’s government. The amount will go into the state’s food supply chain. Announcing this program on January 2, 2024, Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Director, Brian Baldridge cited an intention to invest in producers. At the same time, Ohio’s Resilient...