Archive for April, 2021

Looking back over the past five decades, there’s been a fairly steady descent into our current climate crisis as ballooning populations and hungry economies have relied heavily on burning fossil fuels for power.

Thinking about climate change can be overwhelming. But for those of you who fear it’s too late to change the planet’s fortunes, take heart. Because some experts think humanity can still turn things around for Mother Earth.

Some find cause for optimism in expanding energy efficiency, electrification or geoengineering. ...

DODOMA, TANZANIA — Tanzania’s wheat production is expected to decrease 22% in the 2021-22 marketing year due to high post-harvest loss, below-average rainfall and a desert locust invasion, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Production is estimated at 70,000 tonnes and the harvested area is expected to drop 22%.

The government is trying to increase domestic wheat production with market mechanisms. Millers, traders and processors have been asked to source 60% of ...

WASHINGTON, DC, US — Scott Krakar, grain merchandiser, London Agricultural Commodities, London, Ontario, Canada, addressing the virtual Spring Conference of the North American Millers’ Association on April 20, forecast winter wheat production in Ontario in 2021 at 85.7 million bushels, down slightly from the 2020 outturn of 85.9 million bushels.

Ontario is the origin of most of the soft red winter wheat and soft white winter wheat imported each year by US millers. The US Department of Agriculture in its April ...

WASHINGTON, DC, US — A panel of soft wheat millers addressing the virtual Spring Conference of the North American Millers’ Association on April 20 forecast soft red winter wheat production in the United States in 2021 at 332.701 million bushels, up 66.466 million bushels, or 25%, from 266.235 million bushels in 2020 and compared with 286 million bushels as the recent five-year average outturn.

Grover Van Hoose, merchandising manager, grain, The Mennel Milling Co., was panel chairman and gave the forecast ...

Kingston/Geneva, 19 April 2021– Nearly 20,000 people have been directly affected by La Soufrière volcanic eruptions in St. Vincent and The Grenadines (SVG). As La Soufrière volcano remains highly active, these numbers may increase in the coming weeks and months. So far, almost 1,500 families in SVG have been displaced and more than 8,000 people have been evacuated and are staying at public and private shelters. Almost all of the 110,600 residents of the island have been indirectly affected by ...

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — Railroad performance in placement of cars at origins continued to be an issue across most of the United States, millers and traders said last week.

Meanwhile the rail freight market strengthened, and the BNSF railroad withdrew its shuttle offers, a trader said.

Rail activity

In the week ended April 10, total US weekly rail traffic was 513,724 carloads and intermodal units, up 25% compared with the same week in 2020, according to the American Association of Railroads.

Carloads for ...

WASHINGTON, DC, US — Whole grains and refined grains both can make meaningful nutrient contributions to dietary patterns and add nutrient density, according to an article appearing in the October 2020 issue of Current Developments in Nutrition.

A scientific panel, which reviewed published data since the release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020, also found fortification and enrichment of grains remain vital in delivering nutrient adequacy in the American diet, scientific evidence that refined grain foods are linked to overweight ...

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — Nothing threatens the stability of a nation or region more than food insecurity. And sadly, as the world also continues to deal with the global COVID-19 pandemic, including the economic hardship stemming from it, the list of countries falling into the food insecure category is growing.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) in March issued an early warning for urgent humanitarian action in 20 food insecure ...

Officials on the Caribbean island of St Vincent have warned that residents are facing water shortages, as ash from La Soufriere volcano has contaminated local supplies.

The volcano erupted again around 6am local time (10:00 GMT) on Tuesday – the fifth-straight day of explosions – and sent plumes of smoke into the air, as well as ash and other volcanic material flowing down its flanks.

Between 16,000 and 20,000 people have been evacuated from areas near the volcano, including about 3,000 who ...

Conditions on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent have worsened as La Soufrière volcano continues to push ash and debris into the atmosphere. Dozens of individuals have been rescued from the northern part of the island after refusing to evacuate last week. Officials are warning anyone still in the red and orange zones to flee as the mountain presents a new danger to anyone still in the area.

In the areas around the volcano, there is evidence of pyroclastic flows — ...