From north to south, cattle prices in Australia have seen a positive growth early December 2024 after rain cut off supplies. During the period, southern Queensland, Victoria and the northern New South Wales received over 100 millimeters of rain.  Similar trends happened in the northwest, which according to Beef Central saw over 50 millimeters of saturation. As the last wet dust settled, cattlemen in...

The harvest of American sugar beet has ended in most locations, with uptick yields and volume climb year-on-year. American Crystal Sugar Company, a co-operative in North Dakota and Minnesota, alone has produced a record 13.2 million tonnes in 2024. This is above the 12.17 million tonnes that the company reaped in 2023.  The company’s output is significant as it normally contributes 1/3rd of...

A fishermen in Bristol, Maine landed a rare yellow lobster on December 7, 2024, two months after a similar catch in Nantucket, Massachusetts.   According to News Center Maine, Max Moody caught the crustacean after finding it among his traps on the nearby wharf.  Even though lobsters come in a variety of tinges from the typical mottled brown to orange,  blue...

Market prices of coffee returned down to earth briefly on December 2 to a 14-day low after scoring a 47-year high. But by December 5, they had rebounded sharply due to multiple factors including trade and weather forces. Arabica in New York rose by 3.23% while Robusta in London by 2.62%, attendant to drought reports from Brazil and Vietnam. The fall in prices...

750 farmers including women in the coffee-rich Sidama Zone of southern Ethiopia have received solar powered pumping systems, courtesy of an international initiative. The allocations to farmers in Dore Bafana Kebele and Hawassa Zuria Woreda demarcations in Sidama feature 145 kilowatt solar pumps.  Supervising the handover, the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP)’s representatives behind the project cited substantial emission cuts. Apparently, the China government-funded...

The recall of raw milk in California continues after the detection of bird flu microbes in samples from a local dairy farm. Fresno’s Raw Farm voluntarily recalled its milk following the first virus contamination case in its dairy on November 21. The California Department of Food and Agriculture on December 3, 2024 further advised people to forfeit milk purchased between November 9...

Ukraine has imposed minimum export prices for certain oilseeds, grains and vegetable oils effective December 1, 2024 to streamline foreign revenue inflows. Hitherto, traders have been purchasing fast-moving grains and oilseeds from farmers in cash and then exporting them at low prices. To prevent this, the government has published base prices which will keep changing each 10th of the follow up month.  The price-fixing...

The UK, Norway and the European Union on December 2, 2024 reviewed the 2024-25 fishing quotas in the North Sea with cuts affecting the Scotland cod fisheries. This marks the second back-to-back reduction of cod allocations since the reinstatement of post-Brexit joint fishing rights. According to the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries of Norway, the total allowable catches (TAC) of North Sea...

A sugarcane union in Uttar Pradesh in northern India has requested better cane prices for farmers. This at a time when preliminary local production is ebbing and sugar prices are falling worldwide. The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) wants the union government to up the price from 370 rupees ($4.37) a quintal to a reasonable 450 rupees ($5.31).  In the December 1, 2024 briefing,...

The main Omani honey harvest is underway in the northern mountainsides, climaxing the biannual “liquid gold” cultural tradition. At this time of the year, markets in the district of Al Rustaq, a southern governorate, teem with honey. As the gateway to the northern mountains, the district brings the honey via traders to its famous Old Souq.  As most honey ends up...