Latest Agriculture News

UN drug experts say opium production has leveled off in Myanmar, but instability may trigger a rise

Dec. 12, 2024 07:43 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — There has been a slight drop in the production of opium in Myanmar, the world’s biggest source of the illicit drug from which heroin is derived, experts from the United Nations said Thursday, while warning of strong prospects for future expansion of the deadly trade. ...

Brazilian beef and leather companies fall short in tackling deforestation, a study finds

Dec. 11, 2024 06:48 AM EST

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The next United Nations climate conference, COP30, will be held in Belem, the capital of an Amazon region where widespread deforestation mainly driven by cattle farming has turned the surrounding rainforest from a vital carbon sink into a significant carbon source. ...

Oil-Dri: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Dec. 09, 2024 16:27 PM EST

CHICAGO (AP) — CHICAGO (AP) — Oil-Dri Corp. of America (ODC) on Monday reported earnings of $16.4 million in its fiscal first quarter. On a per-share basis, the Chicago-based company said it had profit of $2.25. The maker of products for soil in the agriculture,...

A farming project in South Africa is helping deaf people build skills and find jobs

Dec. 08, 2024 04:15 AM EST

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — At the Westonaria agricultural park near Bekkersdal, east of Johannesburg, farm workers are busy tilling the soil and planting tomatoes and lettuce. Despite the hive of activity, there is silence around the park. Most people here are deaf and communicate using...

The EU and a South American trade bloc reach a giant trade deal after 25 years of talks

Dec. 06, 2024 17:16 PM EST

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — The European Union reached a blockbuster free trade agreement Friday with Brazil, Argentina and the three other South American nations in the Mercosur trade alliance, capping a quarter-century of on-off negotiations even as France vowed to derail the contentious accord....

Police in India clash with farmers during protest march over minimum price demand for crops

Dec. 06, 2024 05:42 AM EST

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police on Friday used tear gas against hundreds of farmers taking part in a march to New Delhi to demand guaranteed crop prices in a repeat of 2021 protests. Clashes broke out near Shambhu, a border crossing between northern Punjab and Haryana states, where...

EU chief in Uruguay for final talks on a huge trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc

Dec. 05, 2024 17:43 PM EST

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Uruguay Thursday for the final stages in years-long negotiations to clinch a trade deal between the 27-nation EU and the South American Mercosur trade bloc that would create a trans-Atlantic market of some 700 million...

From yuck to profits: Some Zimbabwe farmers turn to maggots to survive drought and thrive

Nov. 29, 2024 00:29 AM EST

NYANGAMBE, Zimbabwe (AP) — At first, the suggestion to try farming maggots spooked Mari Choumumba and other farmers in Nyangambe, a region in southeastern Zimbabwe where drought wiped out the staple crop of corn. After multiple cholera outbreaks in the southern African nation...

Avocados, tequila and other iconic Mexican products are jeopardized by Trump's tariff threats

Nov. 28, 2024 11:41 AM EST

URUAPAN, Mexico (AP) — Mexicans are worried that threats by Donald Trump to impose 25% tariffs could affect a wide range of iconic Mexican products and threaten entire regional economies. In western Mexico, no crop supplies an income for so many small growers as avocados. But...

'Everything is expensive!' Bolivia faces a shocking economic collapse

Nov. 28, 2024 11:33 AM EST

EL ALTO, Bolivia (AP) — Fuel is rapidly becoming one of Bolivia’s scarcest commodities. Long lines of vehicles snake for several kilometers outside gas stations all over Bolivia, once South America’s second-largest producer of natural gas. Some of the queues don’t budge for...