Vale do Rio Doce, the world's largest iron-ore producer, plans to convert its railway locomotives to run 20 per cent on biodiesel made from soybeans. US farmers plan to cut soybean acreage to the smallest since 1996. Sugar had the biggest weekly decline since December on concern that a global surplus will widen as demand fails to keep pace with rising supply from India and Brazil, the world's largest producers. Farmers planted 8.7 percent more of the grain in October and November after...

JOHN Howard's plan to reform the wheat marketing system, to be announced tomorrow, will retain a single desk for exports run by players other than the disgraced AWB. The compromise reached by cabinet on May 12 and to be discussed at a partyroom meeting tomorrow, is an attempt to quell a Coalition backbench revolt. Australia's 30,000 wheatgrowers have already sewn this year's crop, and AWB is likely to manage the sale of most of it. It says it "aims to provide the reader with the latest...

On this trip I stopped at fields and variety trials/demos near El Reno (Canadian County), Minco (Grady County), Apache (Caddo County), Altus (Jackson County), Granite (Greer County), and then north to fields around Hammon & Leedy (Roger Mills, Custer and Dewey Counties) On this trip I stopped at fields and variety trials/demos near El Reno (Canadian County), Minco (Grady County), Apache (Caddo County), Altus (Jackson County), Granite (Greer County), and then north to fields around Hammon &...

Three years after a series of controversial field experiments with genetically modified (GM) wheat, Swiss scientists are planning similar crop trials. Two teams of university researchers have applied to carry out tests near Zurich and Lausanne, including observations of potential crossbreeding between wheat and wild grass. They also intend to look at aspects of biological safety to see if the plants have any unexpected impact on the environment, as well as organisms living in the ground or...

Last year, world wheat grain production was badly affected by drought and this resulted in higher wheat prices. These two companies supply 60 per cent of the country's sugar consumption. The big drop in production was due to natural gas supply disruption in Indonesia. Wilmar to get PPB units this month By Ooi Tee Ching bt@nstp.com. my May 19 2007 PPB Group Bhd will equity account profits from its plantation and edible oil businesses until April 2007 before these subsidiaries are...