About Padraig
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Latest Articles
Senate Confirms Glen Smith as USDA Rural Development Chief; Pledges Cyber Safeguards on Water Loans
Former Farm Credit Administration CEO will oversee rural credit and infrastructure programs, with an early focus on prot...
Senate Ag Committee Farm Bill Markup Stalls as Democrats Hold Firm on SNAP Delay
A partisan standoff over how quickly states must assume SNAP error-rate penalty costs stopped the farm bill from advanci...
Russian Meat Prices Climb: Beef Up 15.6%, Chicken Follows as Costs Bite
Rising feed, logistics, disease, and seasonal demand are pushing up beef, chicken, and pork prices across Russia. Expert...
Russian White Sugar Exchange Trading Volumes Jump Over 20-Fold Since 2017
Spot volumes on the Russian sugar exchange exceeded 90,000 tonnes this year, up from a cautious start in 2017, as the FA...
A Month of Black Sea Disruption: How Port Attacks Are Reshaping Global Wheat and Edible Oil Trade
Sustained attacks on Black Sea and Azov ports are slashing grain exports from Russia and Ukraine, driving up wheat and s...
Scoular to Build Soybean Dehuller at Ohio Facility Amid Plant-Based Demand Surge
Agribusiness Scoular is investing in a dehulling line at its Covington, Ohio, facility, responding to rising global dema...
Cameroon Cocoa Output Plunges 20%, Squeezing Global Chocolate Supply
Production fell to a five-year low of 247,914 tonnes in 2025/26 after extreme weather hit West Africa, slashing exports ...
Why Chilean Fruitland Is Drawing Global Funds and Family Offices
Institutional investors and family offices are accelerating acquisitions of premium Chilean farmland, drawn by high-marg...
When Activism Diverts Attention from Real Water Quality Threats
A Minnesota collaborative effort found that activist claims linking nitrate to cancer rest on correlation, not causation...
Global food prices climb to three-year high as grain supplies tighten
The UN's food-commodity index rose 0.6% in July, led by wheat, sugar and vegetable oils, with Black Sea attacks, extreme...
U.S. Avocado Inspections to Partially Resume in Mexico's Michoacan After Security Suspension
Partial restart eases export inspections halt triggered by security threats, but full normalization remains uncertain; e...
French Maize Harvest to Plunge 35% to Lowest Since 1980 as Heatwaves and Costs Bite
France’s 2026 maize crop is forecast at just 9 million tonnes, down 35% and the weakest since 1980, as farmers cut acrea...
Three U.S. Egg Producers Settle Price-Fixing Probe with 53 Million Egg Donation
Cal-Maine Foods, Versova, and Hickman’s Egg Ranch reach a $3.3 million settlement with 17 states; millions of eggs will ...
V Russian Winemaking Forum Set for October in Gelendzhik
The fifth annual Russian Winemaking Forum will bring together government officials, growers, producers and experts on 21...
Antitrust Action on Farm Input Costs 'Coming,' USDA Vaden Tells Sugar Symposium
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden signaled that DOJ and FTC antitrust investigations into fertilizer, seed and ...
Senate Ag Chair Boozman Warns Farm Bill Clock Is Out of Time, Urges Committee Action This Week
Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman says failure to advance a 2026 farm bill out of committee on Thursday would mak...
Rumen-Protected Fats Offer Grazing Dairy Cows a Late-Summer Energy Boost
As grass quality declines in late summer, leafier regrowth can trigger milk fat depression and yield losses. Supplementi...
How Women in Agriculture Can Craft a Winning Farm Grant Proposal
Industry sources share practical steps to turn a farm project description into a fundable grant application — from telli...
ADM and Bunge Expand Soybean Crush Capacity as Biofuels Policy Reshapes U.S. Demand
U.S. soybean processors are pouring money into crushing plants, betting on higher renewable fuel mandates. The trend is ...
Brazil and Vietnam Dominate Global Coffee Production, New USDA Data Shows
Coffee output worldwide reached 10.68 million tonnes in the 2025/26 season, rising just 1% year-on-year. Brazil and Viet...
EU to Block Brazilian Beef and Honey Exports from September
The European Union will halt imports of Brazilian beef and honey starting in September, dealing a blow to two of the cou...
Why Coffee Prices Keep Climbing: Climate Costs, Labor and the Coming Shift to Smaller Packs
Climate change is pushing up coffee prices worldwide, and the International Coffee Institute says expensive coffee is he...
Farm Bill Draft Would Strip $2B From EQIP, Leaving 56,500 Approved Farmers Unfunded
A farm bill draft would divert nearly $2 billion from the oversubscribed EQIP conservation program, leaving an estimated...
Farm Bill SNAP Fight, Michigan Primary and New Soy Export Capacity Top Ag Week
Senate Democrats will push for a longer SNAP cost-shift pause at Thursday's farm bill markup, Michigan's primary tests t...
USDA extends crop insurance premium deadline, restores prevented-planting buy-up
Farmers get 60 extra days to pay crop insurance premiums — potentially with interest waived — and USDA is bringing back ...
Côte d'Ivoire Unveils 1,077-Billion-CFA Plan to Develop Oil Palm and Coconut
Abidjan is mobilising roughly €1.6 billion to lift oil palm and coconut output, expand local processing and reduce expor...
What Corn Anthers Tell Growers About Pollination and Yield Potential
Corn pollination lasts just one to two weeks but largely sets kernel numbers and yield potential. Understanding anther a...
Federal Plan Would Slash Colorado River Irrigation 40% in Dry Years, Hitting Arizona Farming
A 10-year federal plan would cut lower basin Colorado River deliveries by up to 40% in dry years, with Arizona's non-tri...
Russia Bans Poultry Imports From Cambodia Over Newcastle Disease
Rosselkhoznadzor suspended Cambodian poultry, egg and feed imports from August 3 over Newcastle disease, with a WOAH-com...
Paraguay Wheat Exports Jump 71% to US$92.5 Million in 2026 First Half
Paraguay shipped 425,200 tonnes of wheat from January to June 2026, up 71.4% year on year, earning US$92.5 million in th...