Russia

Russian farmers are headed for a record-setting wheat harvest, forecast the USDA, up 7 percent from 2016 thanks to high yields in the winter wheat crop and a bountiful outlook for spring-planted wheat. With the large crop, Russia is forecast to displace the United States as the world's largest wheat exporter.

In the three-way race for leadership in the world wheat market, Russia will be No. 1 in the current marketing year, says USDA's Grain: World Markets and Trade report. It's the first time Russia would take the top spot; the United States was No. 1 in 2016/17 and the EU led in 2015/16.

Devin Nunes, a Republican congressman from the San Joaquin valley, "once said all he wanted to do was work on a dairy farm," says a profile by The Associated Press of the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. "He's a long way from raising cattle."

Wheat production in Russia is up 20 percent this year, allowing the world's No. 3 grower to move into to exporter spot. The monthly World Agricultural Production report says Russia reaped a record 72 million tonnes of wheat this year, thanks to a record average yield per hectare.

“Long before the Russians were caught doping their athletes with steroids, the former Soviet Union spent decades secretly searching for energy-enhancing plants that would help their Olympians, as well as their soldiers and astronauts, perform better,” writes FERN's Kristina Johnson, in our latest piece, with National Geographic.

Russia will shatter its record for wheat production with a harvest of 72 million tonnes this year, far exceeding the record set in 2008 of 63.7 million tonnes, says USDA. The record crop will vault Russia ahead of the EU as the world's top exporter for the first time, with the United States in third place, according to USDA's Grain: World Markets and Trade report.

Chinese and Russian investors are collaborating to build a 100,000-cow dairy - the largest in the world - in northeast China to supply milk and cheese to the Russian market, says Farmers Weekly, based in England.

In a tit-for-tat move, Russia extended for six months - until January - its ban on imports of food from Europe and the United States, says Channel NewsAsia.

One result of Russia's ban on food imports from Europe and the United States is a surge in interest in domestic food producers, especially organic farms, says the New York Times in a story from Moscow.

Colder-than-usual weather "is likely to spur further concerns over the condition of the winter wheat crop" in Russia, says The Crop Site. It points to uncertainties about the state of the crop.

U.S. farm exports are headed for a record $152.5 billion in the fiscal year ending on Sept 30, says the Agriculture Department.

Russia's Ministry of Agriculture forecasts record wheat exports of up to 30 million tonnes in the ongoing 2014/15 marketing year, said the Itar-Tass news agency.

The Russian ban on food and ag products from Western nations including the United States is likely to mean more business for Brazil, says Reuters.

President Vladimir Putin issued a decree that bans or reduces for one year imports of food and agricultural products from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia in the crisis over Ukraine. "The Kremlin decree doesn't specify which items will be affected," said the BBC.

Russian President Putin says his country should retaliate against economic sanctions imposed by the West in the crisis over Ukraine, steps that could affect...

Commodity prices soared when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 amid fears of grain shortages with two of the world's leading grain exporters engaged in war. Instead, global production of grains and oilseeds has exceeded forecasts based on production before the invasion, said four agricultural economists on Monday.