Kremlin uses Black Sea grain as blackmail, says Blinken
Russia is exporting more grain at higher prices than ever before while suppressing Ukrainian shipments, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday. “Every member of this council, every member of the United Nations should tell Moscow: Enough using the Black Sea as blackmail, enough treating the world’s most vulnerable people as leverage.”
Senate votes to restrict foreign ownership of ag land
In a reflection of international tensions, the Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to prohibit China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran from purchasing U.S. agricultural land and agricultural businesses. The language was added to a military spending bill that was sure to pass the Senate and then be reconciled with a House version.
Black Sea shutdown could have multiyear impact on Ukraine’s farmers
Ukraine is losing its place as one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat and corn because of warfare, and its role could shrink further with the closure of Black Sea shipping lanes this week, said analysts at the IFPRI think tank. Russia, which has attacked Ukrainian grain ports for three days in a row, declared on Thursday that ship travel was unsafe in parts of the Black Sea.
Ukraine grain exports to suffer as Russia blockades Black Sea
The United States will work with allies to find new ways to get Ukrainian grain onto the world market following Russia's decision to effectively blockade its ports again, said an administration spokesman on Monday. Nonetheless, exports from Ukraine, a leading supplier of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil, are sure to decline with the demise of the year-old Black Sea grain agreement, he said.
Key lawmaker proposes 60-percent tax on land purchases by U.S. adversaries
The United States would block foreign adversaries from snatching up agricultural land by putting a 60-percent excise tax on purchases by people and companies from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela under a bill sponsored by the chairman of the House's tax-writing committee.
G7 farm ministers: Expand Ukraine grain exports via the Black Sea
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had a devastating impact on global food security, said Group of 7 agriculture ministers on Sunday in a communique that called for expansion of Ukrainian grain shipments via a the Black Sea Grain corridor that is exempt from attack.
Claim: War is poisoning Ukraine’s famously fertile soil
Ukrainian scientists say soil samples from the Kharkiv region show that “high concentrations of toxins such as mercury and arsenic from munitions and fuel are polluting the ground,” according to a Reuters report.
Squeeze on Ukraine farmers to grow more severe in 2023
Low producer prices and high input costs will discourage grain production in Ukraine this year, said an IFPRI blog, as the Russian invasion of its neighbor hit the one-year mark. “Reduced plantings in Ukraine mean that the world will need to produce additional grains and oilseeds to help rebuild stocks and moderate price levels,” wrote IFPRI senior research fellow Joe Glauber on Thursday.
Keep ‘foreign adversaries’ out of U.S. agriculture, say lawmakers
Bipartisan bills in the House and Senate, inspired by rising international tensions, would block China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from buying U.S. farmland or agricultural companies, said sponsors on Thursday.
Largest U.S. winter wheat plantings in seven years
With their 2022 crop fetching the highest season-average price on record, wheat farmers sowed 36.95 million acres of winter wheat for harvest this spring and summer — the largest total in seven years, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday.
World food prices down for ninth month in a row
The Russian invasion of Ukraine drove food prices to record levels during 2022 and the Food Price Index remains elevated after a nine-month decline, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Biden says starvation will rise as Russia ends grain export deal
UN and European leaders called on Russia on Sunday to revive the international agreement for grain exports from Ukraine, calling it crucial for stabilizing grain prices and keeping food flowing to tens of millions of people.
As war disrupts supply chains, U.S. wheat crop is smaller than expected
U.S. growers reaped their second-smallest wheat crop in 20 years due to drought in the Plains, said the Agriculture Department. The smaller-than-expected harvest would delay any American role in restoring grain flows disrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
USDA puts in motion grant program to increase fertilizer production
The government will award up to $500 million in grants to increase domestic fertilizer production, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday at a meeting of state agriculture directors. Some of the money will go to projects that would pay off in 2023 or 2024.
Food insecurity rises 10 percent in low- and middle-income countries
Nearly one-third of the people in 77 low- and middle-income countries are food insecure, meaning they lack consistent access to enough food for a healthy and active lifestyle, said an annual USDA report. The 9.8-percent increase to 1.3 billion people this year included 41.7 million affected by higher food, fuel and fertilizer costs attributed to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
High input prices imperil 2023 crops in Ukraine
Ukrainian farmers may reduce plantings of wheat and other crops for harvest in 2023 because warfare has reduced their income at the same time they face high fuel and fertilizer costs, said two IFPRI analysts during a briefing on Tuesday. A small crop in Ukraine, usually a leading wheat and sunflower oil exporter, could prolong tight global supplies that have driven up grain prices worldwide.
Rebound seen in wheat and corn exports from Ukraine
Russia will set a record for wheat exports during the current marketing year while Ukraine rebuilds its grain shipments, aided by the recent international agreement to end a blockade of its Black Sea ports, said USDA analysts. Bayer, the world's largest seed and ag chemical company, said on Monday that it would help rebuild Ukraine's agricultural system but also would continue to sell crop inputs in Russia, the instigator of war with Ukraine.
U.S. trade commission rejects fertilizer duties
The U.S. International Trade Commission on Monday voted to reject steep duties on ammonium nitrate fertilizers from Trinidad and Tobago and Russia, going against a recommendation for tariffs from the Commerce Department.