Russia’s retaliation
Russian food embargo to cost Europe billions
BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) — Russia’s ban on Western and European Union food imports, part of its response to EU sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis, could cost the European Union $6.6 billion US a year, according to an internal EU document.
Russia, which is the EU’s second biggest food market after the United States, decreed a one-year ban on Aug. 6. on a variety of food imports from the U.S., EU, Canada, Australia and Norway.
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Big fruit and vegetable exporters such as Poland and the Netherlands are already feeling the impact of the embargo and the European Commission, the EU executive, is seeking ways to compensate farmers or find new markets for the food.
Germany, which has led the EU’s decision to impose sanctions on Russia, is also suffering as one ofthe bloc’s main meat and dairy exporters.
U.S. crop outlook
Farm survey forecasts U.S. corn, soy yields above USDA’s view
CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — Research advisory firm Allendale Inc. forecast the 2014 U.S. corn crop last week at 14.409 billion bushels and soybeans at 3.884 billion, both above the government’s latest estimates, based on a survey of farmers in 27 states.
The projections reflect an average yield forecast of 171.9 bu. per acre for corn and 46.4 bu. for soybeans.
Crop forecaster Lanworth lowered its forecast for the U.S. 2014 corn yield last week to 173.7 bu. per acre from 174.5.
Lanworth, a unit of Thomson Reuters, projected U.S. corn production at 14.649 billion bushels, down from its estimate of 14.734 billion, issued on Aug. 20.
For soybeans, Lanworth left its forecast of the U.S. 2014 yield unchanged at 46.7 bushels per acre and estimated soybean production at 3.852 billion bu., down from 3.855 billion previously but still a potential all-time high.
Timely rains and cool temperatures this summer were seen boosting yield potential for both corn and soybeans. Crops in the northern states lagged in maturity due to planting delays and were at risk if hit by an early frost.
The estimates compare with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s forecast for a 14.032 billion bu. corn crop, with an average yield of 167.4 bu. per acre, and soybean production at 3.816 billion bu. with a yield of 45.4 bu. per acre.
Herbicide investment
Liberty herbicide big part of Bayer CropScience’s plans
FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) — Bayer CropScience says it plans to invest close to $1 billion in the United States between 2013 and 2016 as it aims to grow faster than the U.S. market as a whole.
The agricultural unit of German drugmaker Bayer said the U.S. investments would be part of its global capital expenditure program of about $3.3 billion, which started last year and extends through 2016.
Bayer CropScience chief executive Liam Condon said in a statement the company’s single biggest investment area in the United States was to expand production capacity of its Liberty herbicide.
Farmers are increasingly turning to Liberty to kill weeds that have grown resistant to Monsanto’s glyphosate. Bayer said a year ago it would build a $499 million factory for Liberty in Alabama.
Condon was speaking at the inauguration of an $80 million research and development site in West Sacramento, California.
Antibiotic use
Perdue Foods says its chicken hatcheries now antibiotic-free
(Reuters) — U.S. chicken producer Perdue Foods said it has stopped using antibiotics at its chicken hatcheries, completing a five-year effort supported by consumer and health groups seeking to curb the unnecessary use of antibiotics in meat production.
The move comes amid growing concern among public health experts worldwide about the link between excessive antibiotic use in animal agriculture and human infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria, or so-called superbugs that do not respond to conventional medical treatment.
“By no longer using any antibiotics in our hatcheries or any human antibiotics in feed, we’ve reached the point where 95 percent of our chickens never receive any human antibiotics,” said Bruce Stewart-Brown, Perdue Foods’ senior vice-president of food safety, quality and live operations.
Stewart-Brown added that Perdue’s antibiotic-free hatchery policy exceeds the U.S. Federal Drug Administration’s voluntary guidelines for antibiotic use in food animals, as well as the standards of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s organic certification program.
