Koreans buy African food rights for 99 years
Who is Monsanto anyway?
Monsanto’s high-profile advertisements in Britain and the US depict the corporation as a visionary, world-historical force, working to bring state-of-the-art science and an environmentally responsible outlook to the solution of humanity’s pressing problems.
But just who is Monsanto? Where did they come from? How did they get to be the world’s second largest manufacturer of agricultural chemicals, one of the largest producers of seeds and soon – with the impending merger with American Home Products – the largest seller of prescription drugs in the United States? What do their workers, their customers, and the others whose lives they have impacted, have to say? Is Monsanto the “clean and green” company its advertisements promote, or is the new image merely a product of clever public relations? A look at the historical record offers some revealing clues, and may help us to better understand the company’s present-day practices?
Australian sheep banned from car travel
From The Land
Locals purchasing Australian sheep in Bahrain during the Eid Al Adha festival will be told “no truck, no sheep” under an initiative being implemented by Bahrain Livestock Company.
The move follows campaigning by animal rights groups who urged farmers to boycott selling to live exporters in the lead up to the festival due to the mishandling of animals by locals.
Fertiliser prices three times what they should be: AgForce
From Queensland Country Life Plunging commodity prices are not being mirrored by falls in one of farming’s most important input costs, namely fertiliser. The issue is once again in the spotlight as producers weigh up shrinking harvest profits ahead of a summer crop season when planting equipment should be programmed to apply nitrogen and phosphorous, Continue Reading →
Rain too late for winter crops
A BITTERSWEET dump of rain in southern NSW has arrived just a bit too late to offer a reprieve for thirsty winter crops, despite delivering some of the best falls in at least 12 months.
Albury received 40 millimetres, Henty 41mm, Holbrook 33mm, Tumut 34mm, and further west Swan Hill recorded 19mm, Jerilderie 29mm, and Narrandera 20mm.
Farmers and agronomists say the rain arrived too late to prevent crop failures and low yields in many areas, with many farmers already finished stripping canola and barley and starting on wheat this week.
Fertiliser accelerates dust bowl
FERTILISER is an expensive input that many farmers wish they could avoid, and CSIRO studies indicate some graziers might have good reason to do so.
CSIRO has suggested fertilisers play a role in reducing the growth of native pasture species and contribute to the loss of drought-tolerant perennial native grasses.
This comes as a spin-off from the boost in production that fertiliser applications promote in improved pasture species.