Touch the Soil News #2064 (photo – Growing Crops – Public Domain, USDA) The International Grains Council reports on carryover grain stocks from year to year. Carryover is that inventory of grain on hand before new crop comes in. For the grain year 2016/2017 grain stocks ended at 662.9 million metric tonnes. A metric tonne…
Touch the Soil News #1962 (Photo – UK Allotment Garden – CCA SA 2.0 Generic, Johnathan Wilkins) Earlier this year, news stations in Europe were abuzz over the shortages of fresh fruits and vegetables in supermarket in the United Kingdom. From weather issues to energy issues at greenhouses growing vegetables, supplies are short and prices…
Touch the Soil News #1952 (Feature Photo – Urban Farming at the Town Hall in Colombo, Sri Lanka – (Photo courtesy of International Water Management Institute) Sri Lanka is an island Nation of over 22 million people in the Indian Ocean. About 35 miles from India, this nation recently experienced a dramatic economic crisis in…
Touch the Soil News #1813 (Feature Photo – Loading Grain onto Cargo Ship – CCA SA 2.0 Generic, John Fiddes) How does Ukraine export is wheat around explosive mines planted by Russia in waters around Ukrainian ports and the threat of Russian naval vessels? As global food tremors escalate, the world’s attention is on western…
Touch the Soil News #1808 (Feature Photo – Wheat – CCA SA 3.0 Unported) While vegetables are important, Grains are the cornerstone in terms of bulk. Grains include – wheat, rice, barley, oats, corn, millet and a variety of smaller crops. Ukraine is now the focal point as it comes to grains, as Ukraine provides…
Positive Future News #927 (Feature Photo – Wheat Field – Public Domain, USDA) Because wheat is a food staple for billions of people, slight kinks in its production and distribution can cause jitters around the globe. India is a nation that normally exports a small amount of wheat. Recently it announced a curtailment of its…
Positive Future News #925 (Feature Photo – North Korean Farming –CCA SA 3.0 Unported) EuroNews Green, brings us the story of lack of food in North Korea. As a result, a national effort is underway to have urban workers join farmers to increase productivity. While we might expect something like this from North Korea, food…
Positive Future News #919 (Feature Photo – Chickpeas – Public Domain) Successful Farming Magazine, one of the world’s anchor agricultural magazines, brings the story of Russians stealing Ukrainian grain, and taking over a 60,000-acre farming company in Ukraine. What do you think? The domino effect could increase grain exports from America to nations relying on…
Touch the Soil News #1801 (Feature Photo – Palm Oil Plantation in Indonesia – CCA 2.0, Generic, Achmad Taim) In a world of global trade, it is in the best interests of nations with excess agricultural capacity to export to nations with insufficient agricultural capacity. Or so the reasoning goes. Enter Indonesia, an equatorial nation…
Positive Future News #914 (Feature Photo – Corn – CCA SA 3.0 Unported) The global trade of food commodities is like a game of dominoes. For example, escalating production of wheat and soybeans, from problems in Ukraine and Russia, pushes some acres from corn into wheat and soybeans. As a result corn acres are less…
