Year 2007
NAFTA enters final stage
Date: Thursday, December 20, 2007. By Jeremy Schwartz, The Miami Herald
The final lifting of trade barriers between the United States and Mexico will occur on Jan. 1. Government officials insist the measure is largely symbolic.
Farmers and activists here are planning a series of protests as NAFTA enters its final stage on New Years Day, when the last of the tariffs and quotas Mexico has imposed on imported corn, beans, milk and sugar melt away. More>> (More Other Trade News >>)
Ruling could limit Calif. fruit in Florida
Date: Thursday, December 20, 2007. By Phil Long, The Miami Herald
California citrus interests lost their first round in a bid to overturn new rules on fresh citrus shipped to Florida.
A Tallahassee circuit court judge Wednesday refused to give California growers and shippers a temporary injunction against enforcing new Florida regulations on fresh citrus fruit coming from the Golden State. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Xethanol Announces Grant Application for Citrus Waste to Ethanol Production
Date: Tuesday, December 18, 2007. By The Miami Herald
Xethanol intends to build a demonstration plant for converting citrus peel waste into ethanol.
Xethanol Corporation (AMEX: XNL), a renewable energy company, today announced that its subsidiary Southeast Biofuels LLC has filed a grant application with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to expand the company's work on converting waste to energy, using citrus waste as the raw material and converting it into ethanol. More>> (More Other News >>)
Florida, California fight over citrus exports
Date: Friday, December 14, 2007. By Phil Long, The Miami Herald
Florida and California are locked in a legal battle that could slow shipments of fresh California citrus to the Sunshine State.
Florida has begun restricting imports of California fresh citrus, saying that without new inspections and treatment prescribed by Florida agricultural officials, California citrus peel could carry a fungus that might spread to Florida citrus trees, causing less fresh fruit to be suitable for shipping. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Strong economic growth continues in Latin America
Date: Friday, December 14, 2007. By Phil Long, The Miami Herald
Latin America and the Caribbean mark the fifth year of strong economic expansion, expected to continue next year.
Economies in Latin America and the Caribbean are headed into their sixth consecutive year of strong growth in 2008, raising prospects they will be cushioned from the financial turbulence sweeping the globe. More>> (More Other News >>)
Biofuels generate interest
Date: Thursday, December 6, 2007. By Jane Bussey and Jacqueline Charles, The Miami Herald
The 31st annual Miami Conference on the Caribbean Basin focused on how the region can benefit from an increase in biofuel production.
Biofuels once had the connotation of an energy source of the future. But extracting energy from sugar cane, corn, palm oil, and grasses has rapidly become an industry of the present and an opportunity for Central American and Caribbean nations. More>> (More Other News >>)
Bush seeks support for Colombia
Date: Tuesday, December 4, 2007. By Jim Abrams, Associated Press
A free trade agreement with Colombia held up in the U.S. Congress because of Democrats' concerns over the human and labor rights record of conservative President Alvaro Uribe.
President Bush Monday praised the defeat of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's proposals for constitutional and declined any recognition of his outspoken foe for accepting the loss, as other governments have done. More>> (More Andean Trade News >>)
Congress approves Peru trade deal
Date: Tuesday, December 4, 2007. By Jim Abrams, Associated Press
The Senate gave decisive backing Tuesday to a U.S.-Peru free trade agreement, opening the way for expanded economic ties with the Andean nation.
The 77-18 Senate vote on the bill implementing the agreement followed a 285-132 House vote last month. The agreement will go into effect after the two countries adjust laws needed to abide by it. More>> (More Andean Trade News >>)
Citrus fruit shipping standards eased
Date: Saturday, November 17, 2007. By Phil Long, The Miami Herald
Florida's citrus growers got a break Friday when the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved new citrus canker inspection rules.
The ruling, which shifts the burden of canker inspection from the grove to more intense inspection at the packinghouse, has multimillion-dollar implications for Florida growers and came despite opposition from another major citrus producing state: California. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
U.S. economy No. 1 again
Date: Wednesday, October 31, 2007. By Eliane Engeler, Associated Press
The World Economic Forum ranked the United States as the most competitive economy in the world, followed by Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Finland.
The United States has regained its status as the world's most competitive economy thanks to strong innovation and excellent universities, according to a survey released Wednesday by the World Economic Forum. More>> (More Other News >>)
Florida citrus industry faces new peril
Date: Sunday, October 28, 2007. By Phil Long and Martin Merzer, The Miami Herald
One of Florida's original industries -- ''Come to the Florida Sunshine Tree'' -- is shrinking.
On this day alone, in this single grove, 300 trees will be clipped and burned. It's like this every day now for the citrus industry, under attack by a new threat called greening. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Homeowners seek canker compensation in lawsuit
Date: Sunday, October 28, 2007. By Phil Long, The Miami Herald
The first citrus canker civil case in South Florida is under way as residents battle to get more money for trees lost during the controversial canker eradication program.
More than 865,000 residential trees were destroyed statewide -- most in South Florida -- during an unsuccessful 10-year effort to stop the spread of the disease. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Growers try to mount defense against tree-killing disease
Date: Sunday, October 28, 2007. By Phil Long, The Miami Herald
Scientists and growers are looking for new ways to protect citrus from the latest natural threat -- greening.
Hurricanes wiped out a quarter of his 100 acres of groves in 2004, and the citrus canker eradication program felled 50 more acres, but Pete Spyke is mounting a cutting-edge comeback in a small experimental grove called ''Rock Bottom.'' More>> (More Citrus News >>)
The battle to protect the industry
Date: Sunday, October 28, 2007. By Martin Merzer and Phil Long, The Miami Herald
Farmers just have a way of, you know, when they really get down and roll up their sleeves and really get into the battle, they'll find a way to do it.
Jim Snively is vice president of groves for Southern Gardens Citrus, one of the state's largest growers, and he runs his own grove near the town of Venus, west of Lake Okeechobee in Highlands County. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Trade Commission affirms citrus-dumping decision
Date: Saturday, October 27, 2007. By Kevin Bouffard, The Lakeland Ledger
The U.S. International Trade Commission reaffirmed a March 2006 ruling that Brazilian orange juice producers had sold the product below market prices, harming Florida growers.
Florida citrus growers won another round in their nearly 2-year-old battle with their Brazilian competitors over dumping orange juice into U.S. markets. The U.S. International Trade Commission for the second time has reaffirmed its March 2006 decision that the top five Brazilian citrus processors dumped orange juice in the U.S. earlier this decade. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Costa Rica dealt wild card in trade pact rift
Date: Friday, September 21, 2007. By Nancy San Martin, The Miami Herald
Government officials' letter urging dirty tricks to sway voters to back an agreement could backfire.
With just over two weeks to go before Costa Ricans head to the polls to vote on a free-trade agreement with the United States and six other countries, Alfredo Volio should be a happy man. More>> (More CAFTA Trade News >>)
Latin America-Asia trade accelerates
Date: Thursday, September 20, 2007. By Jane Bussey, The Miami Herald
When it comes to Asia, ''more of the same'' is ruled out for Latin America as the countries scramble to find new markets and new investment.
Trade between a number of Latin American countries and China and India has been growing at double, triple or quadruple digits in the last decade. More>> (More Other Trade News >>)
For El Salvador, a taste of free trade
Date: Monday, September 17, 2007. By Nancy San Martin, The Miami Herald
Exports are up, but the benefits of free trade are not fully clear in El Salvador 18 months after it implemented an accord with the United States.
Since this U.S.-friendly nation implemented the Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement last year, the nation has seen a 68 percent increase in overall exports, from $240 million in 2005 to $404 million in 2006. More>> (More CAFTA Trade News >>)
Latin America boasts best economic gains in decades
Date: Sunday, September 16, 2007. By Jane Bussey, The Miami Herald
A commodity exports boom is bringing the best economic results in decades, but for how long?.
Regional economic growth has averaged about 5 percent since 2004, and 2008 is expected to mark the fifth year of this expansion, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. More>> (More CAFTA Trade News >>)
Free-trade initiatives are on life-support as export growth slows
Date: Sunday, September 16, 2007. By Pablo Bachelet, The Miami Herald
There has been some progress that may clear the way for U.S. deals with Peru and Panama, but more high-stakes initiatives appear to be stuck.
Trade negotiations between the European Union and Latin American nations have made little progress. Grand schemes of South American integration have produced lofty declarations but few tangible results. And on top of all this, Asian countries are busy eliminating barriers to commerce among each other, which experts warn will put Latin America at a further disadvantage on the world stage. More>> (More FTAA Trade News >>)
Biofuel is the region's next promising venture
Date: Sunday, September 16, 2007. By Tyler Bridges, The Miami Herald
Most Latin American and Caribbean countries are rushing forward with plans to begin exporting biofuels by 2010, undeterred that Brazil has jumped far ahead with its production of ethanol.
Companies in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica and El Salvador are importing sugar cane-based ethanol from Brazil, processing it and then shipping it duty-free to the United States, under the Caribbean Basin Initiative and the Central America Free Trade Agreement. More>> (More Other News >>)
Florida and California citrus growers face off
Date: Friday, September 14, 2007. By Phil Long, The Miami Herald
Citrus farmers have everything on the line as the USDA considers changing shipping rules to allow clean fruit from an infected grove.
The proposed rule change includes dropping a requirement to conduct pre-harvest grove inspections. Such inspections have previously disqualified fruit from fresh shipment in cases where inspectors found even a small outbreak of canker anywhere in the grove to be picked. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Ethanol debuts in South Florida
Date: Thursday, September 13, 2007. By Martha Brannigan, The Miami Herald
A U Gas station has made E85 fuel publicly available for the first time in South Florida.
The U Gas station near the Mall of the Americas in Miami-Dade County plans to begin selling E85 fuel -- an ethanol gasoline mixture -- for flex-fuel vehicles today. That makes it the first service station in South Florida to offer E85 to the public. More>> (More Other News >>)
Brazil wants probe of U.S. farm aid
Date: Wednesday, September 12, 2007. By Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press
Brazil will ask the World Trade Organization for a formal investigation of U.S. farm subsidy programs, which it says includes payments for ethanol production.
The dispute could become a major case for the global commerce body, which has largely steered clear of energy issues in its 12-year history. More>> (More Other News >>)
Senator proposes farmer tax credits
Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2007. By Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press
Money has been tight for the farm bill, a politically popular piece of legislation that expires this year.
The Finance Committee's proposals include a trust fund that would pay for weather-related disaster assistance - a priority in Baucus's home state. That could set up a fight with Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who would rather use extra money for conservation programs that protect environmentally sensitive farmland, nutrition programs and other agricultural needs. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Water woes could mean more limits
Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2007. By Curtis Morgan, The Miami Herald
With Lake Okeechobee remaining low, water managers warn of tougher restrictions in the future.
It adds up to a case of drought déjà vu -- another looming water shortage that could be deeper than the one that cost farmers tens of millions and browned suburban yards across South Florida this year. More>> (More Other News >>)
Florida orange harvests look bleak with greening
Date: Sunday, September 9, 2007. By Travis Reed, Associated Press
Dozens of dead orange trees lay stacked here among vast green rows of grove.
All it took was a tiny insect's bite to deliver a fatal crop disease called citrus greening, a bacteria harmless to humans but deadly for the thousands of trees infected since its recent arrival in Florida. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Farmers struggling with insurance costs
Date: Friday, September 7, 2007. By Amy Lorentzen, Associated Press
Many complained of high premiums, and more than a quarter said high out-of-pocket insurance costs were creating financial problems.
The cost of health care in the U.S. is putting a pinch on many family farmers and ranchers who struggle to pay high premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Robots may become essential on US farms
Date: Thursday, September 6, 2007. By Jacob Adelman, Associated Press
Last year, amid heightened immigration enforcement, California's seasonal migration was marked by spot worker shortages, and some fruit was left to rot in the fields.
With authorities promising tighter borders, some farmers who rely on immigrant labor are eyeing an emerging generation of fruit-picking robots and high-tech tractors to do everything from pluck premium wine grapes to clean and core lettuce. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
White House hopefuls love Iowa ethanol
Date: Thursday, August 30, 2007. By Amy Lorentzen, Associated Press
Don't expect to hear much talk about farming from the presidential candidates who regularly tour Iowa, one of the nation's premier agriculture states.
At a time when demand for the corn-based fuel is soaring, support for ethanol among candidates is nearly unanimous and has largely crowded out talk of other agriculture-related issues. More>> (More Other News >>)
Big Sugar might argue both sides of case
Date: Friday, August 24, 2007. By Curtis Morgan, The Miami Herald
For the sugar industry, a threatened lawsuit is about fairness; environmentalists dismiss it as a 'looney' ploy.
Growers, along with the South Florida Water Management District, already are appealing a federal court ruling ordering water managers to obtain federal permits for the controversial practice of pumping polluted farm runoff into Lake Okeechobee to boost water supplies. More>> (More Sugar News >>)
Sugar growers may share ethanol action
Date: Friday, August 17, 2007. By Frederic J. Frommer, Associated Press
Congress is hoping that an ethanol industry with an endless appetite for corn will have a sweet tooth too.
Under the farm bill the House passed last month, the federal government would buy surplus sugar and sell it to ethanol producers, where it would be used in a mixture with corn. The program was inserted as a hedge against a looming North American Free Trade Agreement provision, which will let Mexico export unlimited amounts of sugar to the U.S. starting next year. More>> (More Sugar News >>)
Farmers fear illegal immigrant crackdown
Date: Thursday, August 16, 2007. By Juliana Barbassa, Associated Press
With fruit rotting in fields, unmilked cows suffering in barns and shuttered farmhouses, growers are painting a bleak picture of their industry under new federal immigration policies.
Following the Bush administration announcement that employers who knowingly keep undocumented workers will be held liable under a new enforcement push, many growers said their businesses would be hardest hit. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Immigration crackdown worries employers
Date: Friday, August 10, 2007. By Juliana Barbassa, Associated Press
The Bush administration's plans to crack down on workers whose Social Security numbers do not match their names, and businesses that hire them.
The industry group, which represents 75 percent of U.S. farmers, estimates at least half the nation's 1 million farm workers do not have valid Social Security numbers. Losing them would devastate the industry, particularly fruit and vegetable growers, which rely heavily on manual labor, farmers said. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Immigration ID rule rankles Florida industries
Date: Wednesday, August 8, 2007. By Casey Woods and Niala Boodhoo, The Miami Herald
The federal government is about to require companies to fire employees with discrepancies in their tax records or face penalties -- part of a crackdown on illegal immigration.
Business people and immigration advocates say the new measure would wreak havoc on South Florida's construction, agriculture and hospitality industries, as well as snare millions of U.S. citizens because of inconsistencies in their Social Security records. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Employers brace for immigration rules
Date: Friday, August 3, 2007. By Suzanne Gamboa and Anabelle Garay, Associated Press
Employers who don't comply could face fines of $250 to $10,000 per illegal worker and incident.
Employers across the country may have to fire workers with questionable Social Security numbers to avoid getting snagged in a Bush administration crackdown on illegal immigrants. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Ethanol makers join food vs. fuel debate
Date: Thursday, August 2, 2007. By Amy Lorentzen, Associated Press
Somebody else is profiting, and it certainly isn't the huge profits going to the Iowa corn grower.
Ethanol producers are clamoring over food industry claims that prices on everything from popcorn to soda are skyrocketing because of the rising demand for corn to make the renewable fuel. More>> (More Other News >>)
Tomatoes popular, but power to boost health not definite
Date: Tuesday, July 31, 2007. By Chelsea Martinez, Los Angeles Times
Even as new research identifies which growing methods produce the most lycopene-rich tomatoes, the Food and Drug Administration has said the fruit's health-boosting powers can't be proved.
The FDA looked at 64 studies of tomatoes and cancer, and 81 studies of lycopene and cancer, and found the majority didn't make a convincing argument either way. The agency can ban a claim when there is ''no credible evidence'' published to support it or when stronger evidence contradicts those findings. More>> (More Tomato News >>)
Fruits of labor
Date: Sunday, July 29, 2007. By Kyle Bailey, The Miami Herald
Local growers are scouring the earth in search of new fruits in an effort to keep agriculture alive in south miami-dade.
South Miami-Dade farmer Roger Washington was visiting Costa Rica about eight years ago when he first saw it: a red, spine-pocked fruit surrounded by feathery white petals that bore an uncanny resemblance to the mythical creature from which it got its name -- dragon fruit. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
What's next? Citrus peels to ethanol
Date: Friday, July 20, 2007. By Marc Caputo and Phil Long, The Miami Herald
FPL Energy has a plan to produce cleaner fuel by turning agricultural waste -- citrus peels, specifically -- into ethanol.
FPL Energy announced plans to partner with a citrus processor and a new energy firm to build one of the world's first processing plants that would convert citrus peels into the gasoline additive ethanol. A likely spot for the plant: U.S. Sugar's Hendry County citrus facility. More>> (More Other News >>)
Florida farmers may receive windfall
Date: Thursday, July 19, 2007. By Phil Davis, Associated Press
Farmers would benefit from a bill that includes a boost for the kind of crops that are plentiful in Florida.
The fruit and vegetable crops that make up the bulk of Florida's nearly $7 billion agriculture industry could get a significant boost under the federal farm bill now being hashed out in the House, a beaming group of Florida lobbyists told the state's congressional delegation. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
FPL announces plans to convert citrus waste into ethanol
Date: Thursday, July 19, 2007. By Phil Davis, Associated Press
The FPL plant is expected to produce about 4 million gallons of ethanol a year to be sold as a gasoline additive in Florida.
An FPL Group subsidiary announced plans to develop a first-of-its-kind commercial plant to convert orange and grapefruit waste into ethanol that will be sold to Florida motorists at gasoline pumps. More>> (More Other News >>)
Brazil leads the way in biofuels exports
Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2007. By Tyler Bridges, The Miami Herald
Latin American and Caribbean countries -- from Mexico and St. Kitts and Nevis to Peru -- are trying to catch the biofuels wave.
Government officials throughout the region say they want to help reduce global warming and improve public health by producing a less-polluting fuel, but the main driver is the desire to create jobs, attract new investment and increase exports to the United States and Europe. More>> (More Other News >>)
Citrus disease greening advances further in Florida
Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2007. By Associated Press
A disease that kills trees and ruins fruit has moved into another of Florida's top citrus-producing counties.
The discovery in Hardee County means citrus greening is now affecting trees in four of the top five production areas from last season. Those areas accounted for 60 percent of Florida citrus in 2005-06. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Another pest worries citrus farmers
Date: Thursday, July 12, 2007. By Phil Long, The Miami Herald
Inspectors found a lone male fruit fly in a trap in a sweet-orange tree in Valrico, east of Tampa.
Already facing citrus greening disease and a longstanding fight with citrus canker, Florida's agriculture officials are dealing with another pest, this one with an appetite for more than a hundred kinds of fruit. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Seeds from plant said biodiesel source
Date: Tuesday, July 10, 2007. By Randall Chase, Associated Press
While the seashore mallow might be handy for a quick snack, the sturdy plant has provided Gallagher food for thought in addressing a smorgasbord of environmental problems.
Unlike soybeans and corn, which require annual plantings to feed the growing appetite for biofuels, the pink-flowered seashore mallow is both a perennial and a halophyte, or salt-tolerant plant, that grows in areas where other crops can't. More>> (More Other News >>)
Workers say pesticides made them sterile
Date: Monday, July 9, 2007. By Noaki Schwartz, Associated Press
The pesticide was designed to kill worms infesting the roots of banana trees on Latin American plantations.
At least 5,000 agricultural workers from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama have filed five lawsuits in this country claiming they were left sterile after being exposed in the 1970s to the pesticide known as DBCP. More>> (More Other News >>)
Ethanol pioneers dream big
Date: Thursday, June 28, 2007. By Jane Bussey, The Miami Herald
The giant seed and chemicals company could help them develop the ethanol market.
In the emerging and rapidly changing ethanol industry, business executives, farmers and scientists view biofuels as both a business and a mission to help reduce U.S. dependence on oil and help the environment. More>> (More Other News >>)
Chavez warns against Andean-Europe pact
Date: Friday, June 22, 2007. By Natalie Obiko Pearson, Associated Press
President Hugo Chavez urged the Community of Andean Nations not go through with a proposed free trade pact with Europe.
Chavez said Thursday that Morales had told him that in some areas the proposed deal with Europe were worse than those with the U.S., which he has argued are designed to only benefit the United States and its corporations. More>> (More Andean Trade News >>)
Cattlemen pinched as corn demand rises
Date: Friday, June 22, 2007. By Betsy Blaney, Associated Press
Motorists might save a few cents a gallon filling their tanks with ethanol, but they could soon be paying more for a burger and a milkshake as a result.
Demand for corn to make ethanol is soaring and so are the prices, which have more than doubled in the past year. That's bad news for beef and dairy producers who depend on grain to feed their herds. More>> (More Corn News >>)
Brazil's strong currency -- the real -- is forcing importers to be creative
Date: Sunday, June 17, 2007. By Martha Brannigan, The Miami Herald
These days it's becoming almost impossible to import stuff from Brazil.
ince the start of 2003, the Brazilian real has gained 83 percent in value against the dollar, including 10 percent so far this year alone. That makes Brazilian imports relatively more expensive and U.S. exports to Brazil relatively cheap. More>> (More Other News >>)
Organic farmland in Europe doubles
Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2007. By Aoife White, Associated Press
European organic farmland has doubled since 1998 and the EU is implementing policies intended to spur more interest in organics.
The 15 nations that joined the European Union before 2004 -- mostly in Western Europe -- increased organic farmland from 1.8 percent of all land under the plow in 1998 to 4.1 percent in 2005. More>> (More Other News >>)
Organic dairies test organic feed supply
Date: Sunday, June 10, 2007. By Shannon Dininny, Associated Press
It comes as no surprise to anyone that the number of organic farms is booming to meet consumer demand for healthy food.
Dairy farmers are no exception. Demand for consumer organic dairy products has grown by more than 20 percent each year, a trend that is expected to continue at least in the near term. More>> (More Other News >>)
Florida citrus farmers find new cash crops to diversify business
Date: Monday, May 14, 2007. By Kelly Griffith, Orlando Sentinel
Florida's top crop? Citrus? Try ferns. Greenhouse and nursery plants top the agricultural charts these days.
Never before have Florida's growers and ranchers needed innovation, creativity and smart business sense to thrive under increasing pressures from development and mounting competition from imports, say agriculture experts and diehard farmers who would rather change what they grow or how they raise it than leave a way of life they love. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
U.N. raises doubts on biofuels
Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2007. By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press
The world had both the money and technology to prevent global warming blamed in part on greenhouse gas emissions.
Biofuels like ethanol can help reduce global warming and create jobs for the rural poor, but the benefits may be offset by serious environmental problems and increased food prices for the hungry. More>> (More Other News >>)
Couple pushes agrotourism with wine made from tropical fruit
Date: Sunday, May 6, 2007. By David Fischer, Associated Press
One couple is using wine made from tropical fruit to lure visitors away from the beach to experience other aspects of South Florida's natural beauty.
Instead of using grapes, Peter and Denisse Schnebly are embracing Florida's agricultural strengths by making wine from fruits such as carambola and lychee that won't grow in cooler climates. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Switch to organic crops could help poor
Date: Saturday, May 5, 2007. By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press
Researchers told a U.N. conference Saturday that a large-scale shift to organic agriculture could help fight world hunger while improving the environment.
Researchers in Denmark found, however, that food security for sub-Saharan Africa would not be seriously harmed if 50 percent of agricultural land in the food exporting regions of Europe and North America were converted to organic by 2020. More>> (More Other News >>)
ASEAN, EU agree to launch trade talks
Date: Friday, May 4, 2007. By Eileen Ng, Associated Press
Southeast Asian nations and the European Union agreed Friday to start free trade talks, a breakthrough after more than two years of wrangling over military-ruled Myanmar's poor human rights record.
The decision was made in Brunei where economic ministers of the 10 member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met with their counterparts from Europe and Japan. More>> (More Other Trade News >>)
New Biotech product could end up in feed
Date: Thursday, May 3, 2007. By Amy Lorentzen, Associated Press
Ethanol industry leaders say a new biotech product that helps corn fight off pests could end up in exported animal feed and risk the industry's relationship with foreign markets.
The trait has not been approved for export markets but is being sold to growers in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The trait could end up in exported distillers grains, a byproduct of ethanol production that is fed to livestock. More>> (More Other News >>)
Ethanol juggernaut moves through D.C.
Date: Tuesday, May 1, 2007. By H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press
Nebraska hog producer Joy Philippi says livestock farmers "are having jitters" over ethanol, worried there won't be enough corn left for the pigs.
There is an ethanol juggernaut moving through Congress that will call for a sevenfold increase in biofuels production - almost all of it ethanol - over the next 15 years. Presidential primaries, anger over gasoline prices and global warming make ethanol a potent political issue for both parties. More>> (More Other News >>)
Drought forces consideration of year-round water restrictions
Date: Tuesday, May 1, 2007. By Brian Skoloff, Associated Press
Florida's worsening drought conditions - one of the driest periods on record - could result in year-round water restrictions for residents and farmers as forecasters say no real relief is in sight.
Lake Okeechobee, a backup drinking water source for millions in South Florida and the lifeblood of the Everglades, is nearing a record low at 9.6 feet, four feet below average. It was the first time in history that Everglades water was deemed off-limits. More>> (More Other News >>)
Why is Florida so dry?
Date: Monday, April 30, 2007. By Curtis Morgan, The Miami Herald
Some people in South Florida may have a hard time believing it, but state water managers insist that, yes, things really are serious.
''Droughts are slow-simmering water emergencies, not sudden flares like floods or hurricanes,'' said Carol Ann Wehle, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District. ''But they can be just as dangerous, because they impact our drinking-water supplies, the environment and our regional economy.'' More>> (More Other News >>)
The Americas must work to maintain their advantage in biofuels
Date: Monday, April 30, 2007. By Jane Bussey, The Miami Herald
From President Bush signing an ethanol cooperation accord with Brazil to green conferences to a flurry of alternative energy ventures, biofuels have graduated from science page to front page.
Much of the attention has focused on ethanol, a biodegradable alcohol usually distilled from sugar. Brazil is the leading producer of sugar-based ethanol while the United States makes most of its ethanol from corn. But just about any biodegradable product, from grasses to citrus waste, can be used as a fuel or gasoline additive. More>> (More Other News >>)
Chávez tries to defuse ethanol rift with Brazil
Date: Wednesday, April 18, 2007. By Fabiola Sanchez, Associated Press
Venezuela President Hugo Chávez said he is opposed to American corn-based ethanol and not Brazil's sugar-cane version.
Chávez said he does not object to ethanol, which the United States and Brazil have agreed to jointly promote, but that he does oppose U.S. plans to step up production of ethanol made from corn. He called it ''taking corn away from people and the food chain to feed automobiles -- a terrible thing.'' More>> (More Other News >>)
Brazil defends ethanol deal at summit
Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2007. By Fabiola Sanchez, Associated Press
Brazil is defending its ethanol agreement with the United States, despite efforts by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to undermine the deal using his country's vast reserves of oil and natural gas.
Chavez, a staunch critic of U.S. President George W. Bush, has warned that Brazil's deal with Washington would monopolize arable lands and starve the poor - concerns shared by his Cuban ally Fidel Castro. More>> (More Other News >>)
Chávez rips U.S.-Brazil deal
Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2007. By Fabiola Sanchez, Associated Press
Hosting an energy summit in Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez assailed an ethanol pact between the United States and Brazil.
President Hugo Chávez attempted to derail a U.S.-Brazil ethanol agreement as host of an energy summit on Monday, offering his own development plans for South America using Venezuela's vast reserves of oil and natural gas. More>> (More Other News >>)
Drought may force Glades action
Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2007. By Mary Ellen Klas, The Miami Herald
Florida's drought is poised to break records and force more drastic moves, state officials told the governor.
Florida's drought has all the makings of becoming one of the worst in state history, requiring water managers to drain water from the Everglades to pump into drinking-water wells. More>> (More Other News >>)
Global warming may put U.S. in hot water
Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2007. By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press
As the world warms, water - either too little or too much of it - is going to be the major problem for the United States.
It will be a domestic problem, with states clashing over controls of rivers, and a national security problem as water shortages and floods worsen conflicts and terrorism elsewhere in the world. More>> (More Other News >>)
Imported food rarely inspected
Date: Monday, April 16, 2007. By Andrew Bridges, Associated Press
Just 1.3 percent of imported fish, vegetables, fruit and other foods are inspected - yet those government inspections regularly reveal food unfit for human consumption.
Frozen catfish from China, beans from Belgium, jalapenos from Peru, blackberries from Guatemala, baked goods from Canada, India and the Philippines - the list of tainted food detained at the border by the Food and Drug Administration stretches on. More>> (More Other News >>)
ConocoPhillips, Tyson team on project
Date: Monday, April 16, 2007. By John Porretto, Associated Press
Oil major ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat producer, are teaming up to produce and market diesel fuel for U.S. vehicles using beef, pork and poultry fat.
The companies said they've collaborated over the past year on ways to combine Tyson's expertise in protein chemistry and production with ConocoPhillips' processing and marketing knowledge to introduce a renewable diesel fuel with lower carbon emissions than conventional fuels. More>> (More Other News >>)
Biotech seeks to ease reliance on corn
Date: Sunday, April 15, 2007. By Paul Elias, Associated Press
The ethanol craze is putting the squeeze on corn supplies and causing food prices to rise.
Scientists are engineering microscopic bugs to extract fuel from a variety of non-corn sources, including the human urinary tract, a Russian fungus and the plant responsible for tequila. More>> (More Other News >>)
Heavy crop losses reported in Southeast
Date: Thursday, April 12, 2007. By Katrina A. Goggins, Associated Press
Heavy crop losses have been reported throughout the Southeast after last weekend's frigid temperatures, and farmers are bracing for another expected cold snap next week.
In South Carolina, at least 90 percent of the peach crop was destroyed and officials said Wednesday they would seek federal aid. In Georgia, farmers and agriculture officials were still assessing the damage, but the weekend freeze may have wiped out more than half the state's peach crop. More>> (More Farmer News >>)
Growers wait for frost damage estimates
Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2007. By Katrina A. Goggins, Associated Press
The weekend cold snap damaged crops across the Southeast and parts of the Midwest, and was especially devastating for fruit growers.
Growers from West Virginia to North Carolina to Texas spent the weekend trying to save their crops as temperatures fell into the 20s, including a record low of 21 in North Carolina. More>> (More Farmer News >>)
Cotton acreage expected to decline
Date: Monday, April 9, 2007. By Becky Bohrer, Associated Press
With corn prices up and cotton at break-even levels, the northeastern Louisiana farmer considers corn his best bet and for the first time in more than a decade will plant no cotton.
Cotton acreage is expected to decline across the South this season as farmers, faced with high production costs and cotton from last season remaining unsold, move to corn or soybeans, crops with higher profit potential. More>> (More Corn News >>)
Free trade good for both nations
Date: Friday, April 6, 2007. By Andres Mejia-Vergnaud, The Miami Herald
A deal on the Colombia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement is teetering under fire from Democrats and labor unions claiming that various scandals mean Colombia does not deserve it.
Some representatives want higher labor and environmental standards to be included in these FTAs. This usually reflects protectionist strategies -- it does not mean they care about workers or the environment. More>> (More Andean Trade News >>)
IMF economist: U.S. not facing recession
Date: Thursday, April 5, 2007. By Jeannine Aversa, Associated Press
The U.S. economy - despite a painful housing slump - should not fall into recession this year, the International Monetary Fund's top economist said Thursday.
Worries about the country's economic health have been fanned in recent weeks by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who has said he thinks there's a one-in-three chance of a recession this year. However, current Fed chief Ben Bernanke told Congress last week that he doesn't believe the economic expansion, now in its sixth year, is in danger of fizzling out. More>> (More Other News >>)
High fuel blends said crucial for ethanol
Date: Thursday, April 5, 2007. By Dirk Lammers, Associated Press
Boosting the level of ethanol used in fuel blends is crucial to continuing the alternative energy industry's rapid growth, a panel of experts said.
About half of the gasoline sold across the United States is blended with 10 percent ethanol, but that percentage needs to increase for ethanol to go from being merely an additive to a true alternative. More>> (More Other News >>)
Venezuela's Chávez makes a U-turn on ethanol
Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2007. By Phil Gunson, The Miami Herald
With President Bush supporting ethanol initiatives, some leftist leaders have altered their stances to reflect anti-U.S. policies.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was on the ethanol bandwagon. Until, that is, President Bush jumped aboard. Now, it seems, ethanol is a threat to the poor. More>> (More Other News >>)
Castro again blasts ethanol
Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2007. By Anita Snow, Associated Press
''Where are the poor countries of the Third World going to get the minimum resources to survive?'' asked the article, Reflections of the Commander in Chief.
Cuba's government on Wednesday issued the second article in a week about ethanol production signed by Fidel Castro, with the ailing leader reiterating his charge that the use of food crops to produce biofuels for automobiles could leave the world's poor hungry. More>> (More Other News >>)
U.S., South Korea reach free trade deal
Date: Monday, April 2, 2007. By Kelly Olsen, Associated Press
The deal, which requires approval by lawmakers in both countries, is the biggest for the United States since the North American Free Trade Agreement.
South Korea and the U.S. agreed to eliminate and lower tariffs and other trade barriers in a wide range of industrial goods and services, including financial services. The agreement also covered sectors such as e-commerce. More>> (More Other Trade News >>)
U.S., Brazil discuss free trade, ethanol
Date: Sunday, April 1, 2007. By Pablo Bachelet, The Miami Herald
Presidents Bush and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva cemented their alliance at a five-hour meeting in Camp David.
President Bush and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leaders of the hemisphere's most populous nations, pledged to jointly tackle some of humanity's most daunting challenges: free trade and global warming. More>> (More Other News >>)
Farmers to plant more corn to meet demands
Date: Saturday, March 31, 2007. By Nafeesa Syeed And David Pitt, Associated Press
U.S. farmers are planning to grow 15 percent more corn this year to meet ethanol demands, but some warn this may increase food prices and hurt the poor.
An ethanol-fueled boom in prices will prompt American farmers to plant the most corn since the year the Allies invaded Normandy, but surging demand could mean consumers still may pay more for everything from chicken to cough syrup. More>> (More Other News >>)
Why biofuels alliance is a good idea
Date: Saturday, March 31, 2007. By Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, The Washington Post
We are launching a partnership to enhance the role of ethanol fuel in our countries' energy mixes while moving to make biodiesel fuel more widely available.
Today I will visit with President Bush at Camp David to follow up on conversations we had a few weeks ago in Sao Paulo. We have taken an important first step toward committing our countries to developing clean and renewable energy sources that will ensure the prosperity of our peoples while protecting the environment. More>> (More Other News >>)
Rice industry rejects bioscience plan
Date: Saturday, March 31, 2007. By Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, The Washington Post
The country's growers would suffer "financial devastation" if modified crops contaminate the commercial supply.
Agriculture Department officials are considering a request by California-based Ventria Bioscience to grow rice engineered to contain human proteins on hundreds of acres of farmland near Junction City, Kan. More>> (More Other News >>)
Ethanol demand boosts corn planting
Date: Friday, March 30, 2007. By Nafeesa Syeed, Associated Press
High demand from the ethanol industry and strong export sales are expected to translate this year into the biggest U.S. corn planting since 1944.
Corn planting will be up 15 percent this year to 90.5 million acres and 12.1 million more acres than in 2006. A lot of the producers in the Midwest are planting more corn and not as much soybean,even some southern farmers are choosing corn over cotton and rice. More>> (More Other News >>)
Economy expected to remain sluggish
Date: Thursday, March 29, 2007. By Jeannine Aversa, Associated Press
After ending 2006 lethargically, the economy is expected to remain sluggish most of this year as businesses and consumers cope with fallout from the painful housing slump.
According to various projections, GDP growth will remain mediocre, hovering at around the 2 percent to 2.5 percent pace in the first half of this year. In contrast, the economy's average, or trend, growth rate is closer to 3.25 percent. More>> (More Other News >>)
Economist: Biofuel may raise food prices
Date: Tuesday, March 27, 2007. By Nate Jenkins, Associated Press
Increased production of biofuels such as ethanol might help farmers' bottom lines and address climate-change concerns, but it could inflate food prices worldwide.
Corn prices have already begun to soar. A rush to turn more acres into corn production could decrease supplies of other commodities, driving up prices of them as well. More>> (More Other News >>)
More citrus growers are going organic
Date: Monday, March 26, 2007. By Susan Salisbury, The Palm Beach Post
Citrus growers are seeing an increased demand for organic orange juice.
Organic orange juice is made from fruit that is grown without synthetic chemicals of any kind. Most conventional groves use pesticides and fertilizers, and their trees stand in well-manicured, orderly rows. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Can technology help produce blossom?
Date: Thursday, March 22, 2007. By Kyle Bailey, The Miami Herald
Research underway at the Tropical Research and Education Center may one day change the way we eat, the way we drive and what farmers choose to grow.
Moving beyond pure science, the center hired Edward ''Gilly'' Evans, the first economist in the center's 76-year history. He came on board in 2004 in response to increasing globalization of the world economy. More>> (More Other News >>)
Homegrown fuel takes root
Date: Thursday, March 22, 2007. By Kyle Bailey, The Miami Herald
A car that runs on sweet potatoes? It may sound far-fetched, but scientists are hoping that one day the fuel in your gas tank will be homegrown.
The idea of extracting ethanol and bio-diesel from locally grown crops holds immense potential for South Florida farmers, said Wagner Vendrame, a researcher at the Tropical Research and Education Center. More>> (More Other News >>)
Biotechs rush to embrace alternative fuels
Date: Thursday, March 22, 2007. By Paul Elias,
The recent push to develop alternative fuels is driving biotechnology's growth into the industrial sector.
Thousands of corporate executives and scientists gather this weekend in Orlando for an industry trade show specifically aimed at touting biotechnology's so-called third wave, industrial applications. The word on everyone's lips: ethanol. More>> (More Other News >>)
Here He Stands: Development pressures don't budge the man behind Robert is Here
Date: Thursday, March 22, 2007. By Lydia Martin, The Miami Herald
A smell overwhelms your car, jogging old memories. What is that -- freshly tilled soil?
A strange thing happens as you approach Robert is Here, the famed Florida City produce stand where sun-baked tourists line up for tropical-fruit milk shakes in flavors most have never heard of and can't pronounce. More>> (More Farmer News >>)
Cost of fertilizer fueling manure sales
Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2007. By James Hannah, Associated Press
A growing number of farmers and entrepreneurs are turning dung into dollars.
Manure sales are up, as more grain and vegetable farmers turn to animal waste as an alternative to higher-priced commercial fertilizer, say state agriculture regulators. The market also has grown because of the emergence of large livestock farms which generate an abundant supply of manure. More>> (More Farmer News >>)
EU's banana tariffs to be investigated
Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2007. By Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press
The World Trade Organization launched an inquiry into the European Union's banana tariffs.
Ecuador asked the global trade body to establish a compliance panel, claiming that Brussels has failed to comply with WTO rulings. The EU blocked Ecuador's initial request two weeks ago, but could not delay the investigation a second time under WTO rules. More>> (More Banana News >>)
Redbay trees dying; could be in danger across Southeast
Date: Sunday, March 18, 2007. By Associated Press
A little used but ecologically important tree is dying in droves along the Southeast coast because of an insect imported through the ports from Asia.
The redbay, which typically serves as lush greenery in the 15-25 foot height range in coastal forests, is being killed by the redbay ambrosia beetle - an Asian import that likely came to the states in redbay wood used in packing crates. More>> (More Other News >>)
Consumer inflation, industrial output up
Date: Friday, March 16, 2007. By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press
Consumer inflation spurted higher in February, reflecting rising costs for gasoline and big jumps for food, while industrial output rebounded sharply, in large part because of the biggest jump in utility production in 17 years.
The Labor Department reported Friday that its Consumer Price Index rose by 0.4 percent last month, double the January increase and the largest advance since a similar increase in December. More>> (More Other News >>)
Water cutbacks ordered for South Florida
Date: Friday, March 16, 2007. By Curtis Morgan, Georgia Tasker and Phil Long, The Miami Herald
As expected, water managers ordered limits on lawn sprinkling and most uses -- and this time the restrictions could wind up permanent.
Homes in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and eastern Palm Beach counties soon could be down to two and even one sprinkling day a week if a 14-month dry spell stretches as expected into June, the normal start of the rainy season. More>> (More Other News >>)
South Florida hit by water restrictions
Date: Friday, March 16, 2007. By Jessica Gresko, Associated Press
Crops, flower beds and golf courses will have to go thirsty after restrictions on water consumption were imposed on southeast Florida amid lower than normal rainfall.
The mandatory limits come as Florida growers head into the part of the year where they need the most water. They also come as the state heads into the two months of the year that are usually the driest. More>> (More Other News >>)
Water restrictions imposed due to critical South Florida shortage
Date: Thursday, March 15, 2007. By Jessica Gresko, Associated Press
Thirsty crops, flower beds and golf courses will be some of the results of water restrictions imposed Thursday on southeast Florida.
The measures are aimed at cutting the region's water consumption by 15 percent and more in some areas. They come after more than a year of below-normal rainfall in South Florida. More>> (More Other News >>)
Ethanol's corn need will raise meat price
Date: Saturday, March 10, 2007. By Libby Quaid, Associated Press
Ethanol fuel plants' demand for corn is raising the cost of feeding livestock and, in turn, the cost of meat.
The culprit is the rising price of corn. It's now more expensive to feed livestock, because there's so much demand for corn from ethanol plants. As feeding costs rise, meat and poultry production will fall. And that in turn means higher prices at the supermarket. More>> (More Other News >>)
Florida's orange crop expected to drop even lower this year
Date: Friday, March 9, 2007. By Jim Ellis, Associated Press
Florida's orange crop is expected to drop about 11 percent more than last year's already-low figures, as growers slowly recover from hurricanes, citrus disease and a freeze.
Orange production is expected to fall 18 percent nationwide this year due to Florida's problems and a devastating California freeze, which could cause already-high juice prices to climb more. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Florida orange crop shrinks
Date: Friday, March 9, 2007. By Shruti Date Singh, Bloomberg News
Florida's orange crop will be 5.7 percent smaller than forecast last month, lower than analysts' estimates.
Growers in Florida will produce 132 million boxes of oranges in the season that ends in June, down from 140 million expected last month and 147.9 million boxes harvested last year. A crop of that size would be the smallest in 17 years. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Smaller Florida orange crop predicted
Date: Thursday, March 8, 2007. By Shruti Date Singh, Bloomberg News
Five of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg said the U.S. Department of Agriculture will lower last month's forecast of 140 million boxes.
The average prediction was for just under 136 million boxes, down from 147.9 million boxes last season. Most cited a smaller-than-expected crop of early- and mid-season oranges. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
More women farmers sprout up
Date: Wednesday, March 7, 2007. By Kathleen McGrory, The Miami Herald
Female farmers are growing in numbers -- and growing everything from beans to sapodilla. They also have their own social networks and websites.
Despite a decline in the number of farms nationwide, the number of women involved in running those farms is on the rise. Based on current trends, the Department of Agriculture predicts that as many as 75 percent of U.S. farmland will be owned or co-owned by women by 2014. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Farm irrigation blamed for water woes
Date: Wednesday, March 7, 2007. By Maria Sudekum Fisher, Associated Press
Some farm groups contend water is plentiful and irrigation is necessary to sustain crops and the livelihoods of the people and businesses that rely on a solid farm economy.
But environmental groups are among those who claim irrigation - particularly west of the Mississippi - has helped dry up streams and lower reservoirs, and has threatened the land's long-term viability. More>> (More Other News >>)
Plunging Lake Okeechobee could bring water cutbacks
Date: Wednesday, March 7, 2007. By Curtis Morgan, The Miami Herald
As a drought continues to takes its toll on Lake Okeechobee, water managers warn more restrictions could be on the way for South Florida.
The problem: When the huge lake, which doubles as South Florida's water barrel, drops low enough, gravity alone no longer pushes enough water into the canals that replenish irrigation systems for surrounding sugar cane fields and groundwater supplies for metropolitan Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. More>> (More Other News >>)
Gasification may be key to U.S. ethanol
Date: Sunday, March 4, 2007. By Dirk Lammers, Associated Press
The government awarded $385 million in grants last week aimed at jumpstarting ethanol production from nontraditional sources like wood chips, switchgrass and citrus peels.
President Bush set a goal in his State of the Union address of producing 20 percent of the nation's fuel supply from renewable resources by 2017. Much of those supplies will come from the conversion of corn into enthanol, fueled by a boom in new ethanol plant construction that's already under way. More>> (More Other News >>)
Bush seeks ethanol alliance with Brazil
Date: Sunday, March 4, 2007. By Alan Clendenning, Associated Press
In only a few years, Brazil has turned itself into the planet's undisputed renewable energy leader, and the highlight of Bush's visit is expected to be a new ethanol "alliance" he will forge with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The deal is still being negotiated, but the two leaders are expected to sign an accord Friday to develop standards to help turn ethanol into an internationally traded commodity, and to promote sugar cane-based ethanol production in Central America and the Caribbean to meet rising international demand. More>> (More Other News >>)
U.S., Brazil launch biofuels forum
Date: Saturday, March 3, 2007. By Alexandra Olson, Associated Press
The world's two top ethanol producers - the U.S. and Brazil - announced the creation of an international forum to help expand the global market for biofuels.
The International Biofuel Forum will meet regularly for a year to draft global standards for biofuel production, find ways to open markets and encourage investment in countries with the potential to develop the industry. More>> (More Other News >>)
Hot summer leaves honey bees lethargic
Date: Friday, March 2, 2007. By Blake Nicholson, Associated Press
Dry, hot weather soured honey production in the nation's top two beekeeping states last year, leading to one of the smallest U.S. honey crops in at least 35 years.
Aside from California, much of the country's production comes from the Upper Midwest. North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana, which produced more than a third of the nation's honey crop last year, all struggled with dry weather. More>> (More Other News >>)
CAFTA marks first year with new member
Date: Friday, March 2, 2007. By Associated Press
With President Bush's proclamation, the Dominican Republic became the fifth -- and next to last -- nation to join the Central American Free Trade Agreement.
Thursday's announcement came as Salvadoran and U.S. officials celebrated the first anniversary of CAFTA, saying the accord is boosting economic growth and creating jobs in the region only a year after going into effect. Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala have also been approved for entry. Only Costa Rica has yet ratify the agreement. More>> (More CAFTA Trade News >>)
Warm weather gives South Florida farmers chills
Date: Thursday, March 1, 2007. By Tere Figueras Negrete, The Miami Herald
Hot winter weather is breeding hard times for local farmers, particularly growers of tropical fruit.
It may seem counterintuitive for a farmer to hope for cold weather, and too-cold conditions do bring their own frosty peril. But crops like mangoes and litchis need a burst of chilly air to prod them into producing the flowers that grow into the fruits farmers sell later in the year. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Free trade passing the test with high marks
Date: Thursday, March 1, 2007. By Andres Oppenheimer, The Miami Herald
Anti-free-trade zealots can scream as loud as they want, but the cold figures show that free trade has been good for Latin America, and good for the United States.
The newly released U.S. Commerce Department trade figures for 2006 show that Latin American countries that have free-trade agreements with Washington have substantially increased their exports to the U.S. market. More>> (More FTAA Trade News >>)
Farmers plant more corn, less soybeans
Date: Thursday, March 1, 2007. By Amy Lorentzen, Associated Press
To produce enough corn for food, feed, and exports, and keep up with the demand for renewable fuels, as many as 10 million additional corn acres could be needed.
Don Elsbernd is a savvy farmer who doesn't make hasty decisions about what to plant on his 1,000 acres in northeast Iowa. But this year, the choice to grow more corn and less soybeans seemed obvious. With corn prices soaring toward $4 per bushel because of the booming ethanol industry, Elsbernd and many other farmers are ready to cash in. More>> (More Corn News >>)
Costa Ricans protest free-trade pact
Date: Monday, February 26, 2007. By Associated Press
Tens of thousands of union members, farmers and political activists marched through Costa Rica's capital on Monday to protest a free-trade pact with the U.S. they say will be harmful to local businesses.
Costa Rica is the only one of six Latin American signatories to the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, that has not yet ratified the accord. Legislators are awaiting a court ruling to clear procedural issues before voting on it. More>> (More CAFTA Trade News >>)
Consumer prices leap more than expected in January
Date: Thursday, February 22, 2007. By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press
Recent data showing rising inflation pressures sparked concern among investors about the Federal Reserve's next move.
Consumer prices increased at a faster pace than expected in January while a gauge of future economic activity posted a tiny increase, raising concerns about inflation and future growth. More>> (More Other News >>)
Experts say corn increase is likely, but could create challenges
Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2007. By Elliott Minor, Associated Press
Georgia farmers are expected to plant about 170,000 additional acres of corn this year to help supply the ethanol plants popping up around the country and to take advantage of the best corn prices in a decade.
Experts believe farmers will plant fewer peanuts and less cotton to accommodate the larger corn crop and they may produce more soybeans, a source of oil for another alternative fuel - biodiesel. More>> (More Corn News >>)
Mexican farmers reap corn bonanza profits
Date: Saturday, February 17, 2007. By Julie Watson, Associated Press
Mexico's corn farmers are expanding production in order to reap the benefits of prices that have soared to their highest in 10 years, thanks to the burgeoning U.S. ethanol industry.
Corn had languished around $2.00 a bushel for years before the ethanol boom caused prices to soar, reaching $4.04 a bushel this week. Corn prices should reach new highs over the next five years. More>> (More Corn News >>)
Tourism rises, but not enough
Date: Saturday, February 17, 2007. By The Miami Herald
A one percent rise in tourism for 2006 was not enough to comfort industry officials, who hoped for a five percent increase.
The number of visitors grew by 1.2 percent to 84.6 million, officials said Friday. It was the fifth straight year of increases after a five percent drop following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. More>> (More Other News >>)
S. Florida's international trade hits $70 billion
Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2007. By Jane Bussey, The Miami Herald
South Florida's robust trade was highly regional, with most top trade partners located in Latin America and the Caribbean.
South Florida's international trade hit $72 billion during 2006, a 9.4 percent increase over the $65.9 billion in total exports and imports the year before. More>> (More Other Trade News >>)
Argentina's economy: back from a meltdown
Date: Monday, February 12, 2007. By Bill Cormier, Associated Press
Argentina's economy blossoms, but the public isn't celebrating yet.
Five years after Argentina's economy melted down, triggering food riots, supermarket lootings, devaluation and debt default, María Elena López is still scavenging in the streets for recyclable paper. More>> (More Other News >>)
U.S. economic future in path of 'Perfect Storm,' study says
Date: Monday, February 12, 2007. By Gerry Smith, Cox News Service
Three sociological and economical forces are changing and threatening the nation's economic future, according to a recent report.
The convergence of inadequate education, changes to the labor force and demographic shifts caused by immigration have created a ''perfect storm'' that threatens the nation's economic future. More>> (More Other News >>)
Mexico's economy shows signs of stress
Date: Friday, February 9, 2007. By Laurence Iliff, Dallas Morning News
Mexico's new president struggles to keep food staple prices down and sustain the economic growth that Mexico has been undergoing for some time.
Mexico, which has been gobbling up U.S. goods and exporting record amounts to America, may face the end of a charmed period during which it grew rapidly with low inflation and managed to generate budget surpluses. More>> (More Other News >>)
Business leaders warn of battle over free-trade pacts
Date: Friday, February 9, 2007. By Jane Bussey, The Miami Herald
Business groups prepare to fight for U.S. approval of free-trade agreements with the Americas.
As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the business group to gird up for the fight, battle lines are already being drawn in Washington over trade. The new Democratic majorities in both houses have raised questions about when and in what form the trade agreements can be passed. More>> (More Other Trade News >>)
Calif. lawmakers seek aid for citrus freeze, other disasters
Date: Wednesday, February 7, 2007. By Michael Doyle, McClatchy Newspapers
Business groups prepare to fight for U.S. approval of free-trade agreements with the Americas.
As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the business group to gird up for the fight, battle lines are already being drawn in Washington over trade. The new Democratic majorities in both houses have raised questions about when and in what form the trade agreements can be passed. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Ethanol use would benefit U.S., region
Date: Wednesday, February 7, 2007. By Luis Alberto Moreno, The Miami Herald
President Bush focused attention on a question that has been largely absent from the debate about ethanol, the most widely used biofuel -- namely, should the United States go it alone on ethanol?
Until now, most biofuel advocates in the United States have portrayed ethanol as a domestic opportunity: a way to bring jobs and investment to the farm belt, while modestly decreasing dependence on imported fossil fuels. If this tendency prevails, ethanol is likely to end up like sugar, with its unsavory history of government intervention and endless protectionist maneuvering. More>> (More Other News >>)
Brazil, U.S. to forge ethanol alliance
Date: Monday, February 5, 2007. By Pablo Bachelet, The Miami Herald
Washington will roll out a strategic partnership with Brazil to expand ethanol and other biofuels usage in the hemisphere.
Still, the alliance between the two ethanol giants will be trumpeted as a major achievement by an administration that critics have long accused of allowing U.S.-Latin American relations to fall in a rut by focusing on a narrow range of difficult issues like free trade and drug trafficking. More>> (More Other News >>)
Hybrids could revolutionize state's citrus industry
Date: Monday, February 5, 2007. By Susan Salisbury, The Palm Beach Post
Hybrid citrus varieties under development could reduce the impact of citrus canker and other diseases while enhancing the tastes of citrus grown in Florida.
Both UF and the USDA could release as many as a dozen new varieties, such as a seedless Valencia orange and a seedless Fallglo tangerine, in the next year or two. That will signal a big change because Florida has not had a new citrus-fruit variety introduced to its groves since 1989, when the amber sweet orange debuted. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
California farmers receive federal relief for freeze-damaged crops
Date: Friday, February 2, 2007. By Michael Doyle, McClatchy Newspapers
The bill would authorize more than $1.3 billion in aid for citrus and other specialty crop farmers hurt in various natural disasters over the past three years.
Dairy farmers in disaster areas could secure up to $230 million in emergency aid under the draft bill. Ranchers could get up to $80 million, small businesses could get grants and migrant farm workers could get mortgage assistance and relief checks. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Consumer confidence dips in Florida
Date: Wednesday, January 31, 2007. By Niala Boodhoo, The Miami Herald
The state's slowing housing market weakened consumer confidence despite lower gas prices, but on a national level confidence was up slightly.
The national January index was the highest in five years, suggesting that consumers will continue to be the engine behind the nation's economic growth in coming months. More>> (More Other News >>)
As corn prices rise, Mexican farmers scramble to plant more
Date: Monday, January 29, 2007. By Marla Dickerson, Los Angeles Times Service
As world corn prices soar on demand from ethanol producers, mexican farmers plant more.
How long the bonanza will last is anyone's guess. What's clear is that America's thirst for corn-based ethanol is being felt around the globe, delivering fatter profits for grain farmers but higher costs for livestock producers, food processors and consumers. More>> (More Corn News >>)
Farmers see growing market in ethnic vegetables
Date: Sunday, January 28, 2007. By Janet Frankston Lorin, Associated Press
A staple in several ethnic communities, cilantro is on it's way to becoming mainstream. It's a key ingredient in salsa, which has surpassed ketchup sales, and now makes up 10 percent of the farm's income.
The explosion of immigrant populations is fueling the growth of ethnic vegetables like cilantro and bok choy, giving farmers new, and potentially more profitable, revenue streams to add to their American staples of corn, sweet peppers and tomatoes. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Uruguay signs trade alliance with U.S.
Date: Friday, January 26, 2007. By Alfonso Castiglia, Associated Press
Uruguay became the first South American nation to sign a Trade Investment Framework Agreement with the United States, a format Washington has used in Africa and Asia.
Uruguay's central bank said exports to the United States totaled $472.1 million in the 12-month period ending in November 2006 -- nearly half the total made up of beef and leather goods. The United States is the second-largest destination for Uruguayan exports after Brazil. More>> (More Mercosur News >>)
Giant sugar mill looks to sweet success
Date: Thursday, January 25, 2007. By Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post
In an effort to keep pace with the pressures of globalization, U.S. Sugar is building the third-largest sugar mill in the world.
The mill is U.S. Sugar's answer to the globalization that is washing over the sugar industry, like most other industries. To stay in business in the face of more sugar imports, the company wants to compete with low-cost producers such as India, Brazil and Thailand, the last two home to the world's largest sugar mills. More>> (More Sugar News >>)
Prices, wages inch up
Date: Friday, January 19, 2007. By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press
While consumer prices rose at the slowest pace since 2003, wages saw their biggest increase since 1997.
The legislation would grant ''blue cards'' to illegal immigrants who could prove they had worked in agriculture for at least 150 days in the past two years. They must continue working in agriculture for several years before attaining permanent legal status. More>> (More Other News >>)
Politics overshadow Mercosur meeting
Date: Thursday, January 18, 2007. By Michael Astor, Associated Press
The political climate in South America has shifted to the left, undermining some of the trade potential of the Mercosur bloc.
The Mercosur leaders plan to consider membership requests from Bolivia and Ecuador and to discuss the implementation of a development fund for the bloc's poorer countries. More>> (More Mercosur News >>)
Changes are likely in Peru, Colombia free-trade pacts
Date: Thursday, January 18, 2007. By Pablo Bachelet, The Miami Herald
The new Democratic Congress may force changes in already negotiated trade pacts with Peru and Colombia.
Faced with the inevitability of a trade-skeptic Democratic-controlled Congress, the Bush administration has told Peru and Colombia that their free-trade agreements with the United States will need ''substantive adjustments'' to secure Congressional approval. More>> (More Free Trade News >>)
Ugly tomatoes are sitting pretty
Date: Thursday, January 18, 2007. By Christina Hoag, The Miami Herald
The Department of Agriculture will allow UglyRipe tomatoes to be exported out of Florida over the wishes of state growers.
The move ends an ugly, three-year-ripe food fight between Plant City grower Santa Sweets and the Florida Tomato Committee, which regulates the Sunshine State's all-important winter tomato crop. More>> (More Tomato News >>)
Farmers planting more corn this year to meet ethanol demand
Date: Thursday, January 18, 2007. By John Seewer, Associated Press
Farmers in the Midwest may be able to make $50 more per acre by going with corn instead soybeans.
Prices for corn are up to $3.40 a bushel and projected to approach $4, reaching highs not seen in the last decade. At least 6 million to 8 million more acres of corn will be needed to supply ethanol plants. More>> (More Other News >>)
California freeze raises citrus prices
Date: Wednesday, January 17, 2007. By Olivia Munoz, Associated Press
California's citrus crop has been devastated by recent freezes.
Nearly every winter crop is affected by the freeze, from avocados to strawberries to fresh-cut flowers, but it's the state's citrus crop that stands to take the biggest economic hit. California is the nation's No. 1 producer of fresh citrus, growing about 86 percent of lemons and 21 percent of oranges sold in the United States. Florida produces more oranges, but those are mostly processed for orange juice. More>> (More Citrus News >>)
Farm-bill fight takes shape
Date: Monday, January 15, 2007. By Libby Quaid, Associated Press
President Bush and many lawmakers are at odds over federal farm legislation.
The farm bill -- really a series of federal programs -- gives farmers payments and other help to supplement their incomes, support crop prices and manage supplies. The current farm bill, written in 2002, expires at the end of this year. Congress and the administration disagree mightily on what the new farm bill should look like. More>> (More Other News >>)
Congress may favor guest-worker plan this year
Date: Thursday, January 11, 2007. By Michael Doyle, The Miami Herald
As many as 1.5 million farmworkers and their relatives now in this country illegally could gain legal status under the bill.
The legislation would grant ''blue cards'' to illegal immigrants who could prove they had worked in agriculture for at least 150 days in the past two years. They must continue working in agriculture for several years before attaining permanent legal status. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Vegetable king recognized for charitable efforts
Date: Thursday, January 11, 2007. By Rebecca Dellagloria, The Miami Herald
Homestead farmer Paul DiMare will be named Miami's Humanitarian of the Year by the American Red Cross.
He is one of the biggest producers of tomatoes in the country, but to those who know him best, Paul DiMare is regarded for something much grander: his generous spirit. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Newcomers, farmers make odd neighbors in South Dade
Date: Wednesday, January 10, 2007. By Tere Figueras Negrete, The Miami Herald
Some homeowners lured to South Miami-Dade have discovered living near farmland can be far from peaceful.
Complaints about farming activities -- some legitimate, some not -- are increasing as more people move in, prompting the county's agricultural director to draft brochures that will outline the sometimes unpleasant particulars of living close to a bustling, billion-dollar industry. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
El Niño could make 2007 the hottest year
Date: Friday, January 5, 2007. By Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press
Scientists predicted that the global temperature this year will likely surpass the long-term average by the widest margin in recorded history.
El Niño also can do some good. It tends to take the punch out of the Atlantic hurricane season by generating crosswinds that can rip the storms apart -- good news for orange growers and others in Florida. More>> (More Farmers News >>)
Fresh Profit
Date: Wednesday, January 3, 2007. By Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post
South florida farmers see a boom in demand for organic products.
While no statewide records are kept on organic production, Florida farms devote an estimated 12,000 acres to organic cultivation of rice, citrus, watercress, blu