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| January 14, 2014 |
 Cargill invests in Ukraine grain giant Kiev (AFP) Jan 13, 2014 - US agricultural trading giant Cargill has acquired five percent of Ukraine's biggest farming producer Ukrlandfarming, as the companies team-up to boost exports to China and other emerging markets. The deal was finalised late last month, a statement from Ukrlandfarming said on Monday without providing financial terms, though the Financial Times said the stake sold for $200 million, which valu ... more |  |
 West Virginia starts lifting water ban Washington (AFP) Jan 13, 2014 - West Virginia on Monday began lifting a ban on tap water imposed in the state last week after a chemical leak into a key river. Hundreds of thousands of people in the Appalachian state had been without water except for flushing toilets since Friday when officials disclosed that chemicals from a plant had been pumped into the Elk River. Water company officials on Monday said testing had s ... more |  |
Geography has impact on grapevine moth's success in French vineyards Heidelberg, Germany (SPX) Jan 13, 2014 - 'Location, location, location' is an adage also true for the European grapevine moth, it seems. Research led by Fanny Vogelweith of the Universite de Bourgogne and INRA Bordeaux-Aquitaine in France has shown that these pests are better adapted and more successful in certain French wine-growing regions than in others, because of the variety of grape on which they occur and the abundance of their ... more |  |
 Europe to suffer from more severe and persistent droughts Brussels, Belgium (SPX) Jan 13, 2014 - As Europe is battered by storms, new research reminds us of the other side of the coin. By the end of this century, droughts in Europe are expected to be more frequent and intense due to climate change and increased water use. These results, by researchers from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the University of Kassel in Germany, are published today in Hydrology and Eart ... more |  |
Ancient Cambodian city's intensive land use led to extensive environmental impacts London, UK (SPX) Jan 13, 2014 - Soil erosion and vegetation change indicate approximately 400 years of intensive land use around the city of Mahendraparvata in the Phnom Kulen region beginning in the mid 9th century, with marked change in water management practices from the 12th century, according to results published January 8, 2014, in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Dan Penny from the University of Sydney and colleagues ... more |  |
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EU policy is driving up demand for pollination faster than honeybee numbers Reading, UK (SPX) Jan 13, 2014 - Research conducted by the University of Reading's Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, and funded by the EU FP7 project STEP and the Insect Pollinators Initiative Crops project, indicates that demand for pollination services has risen five times as fast as the number of colonies across Europe. The study, led by Professor Simon Potts, compared the number of available honeybee colonies in ... more |  |
US 'superweeds' epidemic shines spotlight on GMOs New York (AFP) Jan 13, 2014 - The United States is facing an epidemic of herbicide-resistant "superweeds" that some activists and researchers are blaming on GMOs, an accusation rejected by industry giants. According to a recent study, the situation is such that American farmers are "heading for a crisis." Many scientists blame overuse of herbicides, prompted by seeds genetically modified to resist them. "In part ... more |  |
Japan woman jailed over cow inflation: reports Tokyo (AFP) Jan 10, 2014 - A former pasture manager who lied about the number of cows her company owned in a bid to attract investors has been jailed in Japan, reports said. Kumiko Mikajiri, former president of a now bankrupt pasture, was sentenced to 34 months in prison for inflating the cattle count in a cow ownership scheme. Mikajiri "provided to about 100 customers flyers that said 'you own a cow'... despite a ... more |  |
Hundreds of thousands without water after US chemical spill Washington (AFP) Jan 10, 2014 - Hundreds of thousands of people in the US state of West Virginia have been left without water after a chemical leak into a key river, officials said Friday. West Virginia American Water said it had ordered residents across a wide region not to use water after chemicals from a plant were pumped into the Elk River. "Do not use the water," the firm said, in an advisory to customers. "Due to ... more |  |
Analysis: Pesticide levels high on some Canadian organic produce Ottawa (UPI) Jan 10, 2013 - Levels of pesticide residue found on some organic produce in Canada strongly indicates synthetic chemicals were used deliberately, a CBC analysis indicated. A study of two years of testing conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency found 8 percent of organic fresh fruit and vegetables would be in the category Health Canada would imply deliberate pesticide use, CBC reported Friday. ... more |  |
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Outside View: U.S. food safety a big issue in 2014 New York (UPI) Jan 10, 2013 - In the first week of 2014 the news has been dominated by stories related to the safety of food in the United States. The first few days of the New Year brought the news of a U.S. Department of Agriculture-mandated shutdown of a meat-processing facility in Minnesota, legal action in Oregon against the makers of a vitamin supplement and the announcement by General Mills regarding its proc ... more |  |
Indonesian palm oil firm to pay losses in 'historic' ruling Meulaboh, Indonesia (AFP) Jan 09, 2014 - An Indonesian court has ordered a palm oil company to pay almost $30 million to the state for illegally clearing peatland in a "historic" ruling, lawyers said Thursday. The Meulaboh district court on Sumatra island ruled late Wednesday that Indonesian company Kallista Alam had illegally burnt vegetation on 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of peatland in Aceh province to clear it for a palm oil p ... more |  |
Wanted: Billions of bees for European farms Paris (AFP) Jan 08, 2014 - Many countries in Europe face a worrying lack of crop-pollinating honeybees, a problem caused mainly by an EU policy shift in favour of biofuels, scientists warned on Wednesday. "Europe as a whole only has two-thirds of the honeybee colonies it needs, with a deficit of more than 13.4 million colonies - equivalent to around seven billion bees," they said. Researchers at the University of ... more |  |
Improper use of biocides in food production may endanger public health Washington DC (SPX) Jan 07, 2014 - Biocides used in the food industry at sublethal doses may be endangering, rather than protecting, public health by increasing antibiotic resistance in bacteria and enhancing their ability to form harmful biofilms, according to a study published ahead of print in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. This is among the first studies to examine the latter phenomenon. The study was designed ... more |  |
Despite rains, Dead Sea water levels falls again in December Ketura, Israel (UPI) Jan 8, 2013 - Despite rainstorms that have soaked fields and filled reservoirs in Israel during December, the Dead Sea's water level still dropped, water researchers said. Eli Raz, a researcher at the Dead Sea and Arava Science Center in Ketura said the Dead Sea fell to 427.82 meters (1,403 feet) below sea level in early January, 3 centimeters (slightly more than an inch) lower than the level measure ... more |  |
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Over 350 sick in Japan after eating pesticide-tainted food: NHK Tokyo (AFP) Jan 07, 2014 - More than 350 people across Japan have fallen ill after eating pesticide-contaminated frozen food produced by the nation's largest seafood firm, national broadcaster NHK said Tuesday. People have reported vomiting, diarrhoea and other symptoms of food poisoning after eating products including pizza and lasagne made by a subsidiary of Maruha Nichiro Holdings, according to surveys carried out ... more |  |
Partnership brings clean water to communities in Haiti, Peru Lima (UPI) Jan 6, 2013 - An international partnership forged in the United States is bringing clean water to underprivileged communities in Haiti and Peru and further afield in Malawi, Africa. Oregon solar manufacturer SolarWorld said it teamed up with Rotary International and Water Missions International non-profit organization to cater for clean water needs of thousands of inhabitants in impoverished Haiti an ... more |  |
New study may aid rearing of stink bugs for biological control Annapolis, MD (SPX) Jan 06, 2014 - Many people think of stink bugs as pests, especially as the brown marmorated stink bugs spreads throughout the U.S. However, certain stink bugs are beneficial, such as Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas), a predatory stink bug that is considered an important biological control agent for various insect pests of cotton, soybean, tomato, corn, kale, and other crops. Now a new study appearing in Anna ... more |  |
Important mutation discovered in dairy cattle Aarhus, Denmark (SPX) Jan 06, 2014 - Scientists have found a genomic deletion that affects fertility and milk yield in dairy cattle at the same time. The discovery can help explain a dilemma in dairy cattle breeding: the negative correlation between fertility and milk production. For the past many years milk yield in Scandinavian dairy cattle has gone in one clear direction: up. This has been due to targeted breeding programm ... more |  |
Chinese scientists create high-yield, salt-resistant rice variety Yangcheng, China (UPI) Jan 2, 2013 - Chinese scientists report they've cultivated a high-yield, salt-resistant rice variety that boosts output to almost 2 1/2 tons per acre. Researchers from Hainan University planted 18 salt-resistant varieties on saline-alkali land along the sea coast in the city of Yancheng in China's eastern Jiangsu province and identified one variety matching the output of varieties growing on normal f ... more |  |
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