Record olive oil prices: Drought in the major olive-growing nations has reduced supplies of olive oil and driven prices to a record $9,000 per metric ton. (Washington Post)
Iowa values leveling off: The average value of Iowa farmland rose by 0.6 percent since last September, a “move toward leveling off” after double digit increases in 2021 and 2022. (Realtors Land Institute — Iowa Chapter)
Farmland abandoned in war: Farmers in Ukraine have abandoned between 6.5 and 8.5 percent of the nation’s cropland, running mostly along the front lines of the war between the Russian invaders and Ukrainian defenders, according to satellite imagery. (National Public Radio)
World grain output climbs: Pointing to “recent and more positive yield estimates” for wheat in Ukraine and Russia, the forecast for world grain production was raised to 2.819 billion metric tons, the highest ever, said the FAO Cereal Supply and Demand Brief. (FAO)
U.S. pork exports surge: With sales to Mexico, the No. 1 customer, up by 18 percent for the first eight months of the year, U.S. pork exports of $5.3 billion worldwide are running 9 percent higher than at the same point last year. (U.S. Meat Export Federation)