Across Iowa, the total acres of "potential habitat" (ground planted with hay, oats or wheat or enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program) dwindled by 30 percent from 1990 to 2005. The president of the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council, who is both a farmer and a pheasant hunting guide, published a scathing op-ed last month in a Sioux Falls newspaper accusing "Chicken Littles" in his state of "outrageously blaming corn and ethanol for declining pheasant numbers" when, in reality,...

The country is in the process of harvesting a record soyabean crop, while there is a rebound in the groundnut crop. Aided by an improved southwest monsoon performance that helped soyabean and groundnut crops, the output of major cultivated oilseeds during the ongoing kharif 2007 season is seen 25 per cent higher from last year. Even as soyabean has consistently stayed ahead of groundnut production for some years now, in the current season groundnut in-shell output has rebounded to 52....

The country had earlier in the year set a winter wheat target of 76 000ha but owning to serious shortages of inputs and other resources, only 51 000ha were put under production. He said each province had been targeted to produce at least 2 400 tonnes of wheat per hactare. He said there was need to review wheat price and improve transportation, especially from farms to GMB. Mr Gumbo said transport problems and unviable wheat prices had affected production and delivery levels. To contact the...

It said filling the gap by purchasing wheat from domestic market would have adversely affected the consumers as the price of the product would have risen due to increased demand. The government has been in the midst of controversy over its decision to import the grain at a rate of US $325 per ton which many contend is too high. New Delhi: The Centre has sought the dismissal of a public interest litigation (PIL) on wheat imports saying that the court should not interfere in its decision...

With the market in tight supply, the job of the market is to encourage South American producers to plant enough acres to increase world ending stocks. The market has rallied, as it has put in a premium to attract acres, and this premium is likely to be removed once South American planting is under way. The United States is unlikely to produce another record-large crop in 2008, as corn acres will no doubt be reduced next spring, leaving end users to purchase corn during harvest, which will...