Articles by Hugh Bronstein | Alberta Farmer Express

File photo of a barley field in Argentina. (Juan Pablo Marchelletti/iStock/Getty Images)

Argentine truckers end strike, freeing China-bound barley

Canada, France would have been buyers' Plan B

By Maximilian Heath, Hugh Bronstein, GFM Network News February 10, 2021

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentine truckers ended a 20-day strike that had blocked access to ports in Buenos Aires province, agricultural industry sources said on Tuesday, following a deal struck with local officials to increase freight-hauling rates. Trucks owners grouped in the informal TUDA association (Transportistas Unidos de Argentina) began blocking highways last month, […] Read more

Reuters

Argentine soy crushing operations normalize after 20-day labor strike

By Maximilian Heath, Hugh Bronstein, GFM Network News December 30, 2020

Buenos Aires | Reuters – Argentine soymeal and soyoil factories went back into production on Wednesday after a 20-day strike by oilseed workers was ended late the night before by a new wage contract for the coming year, union and industry sources said. The deal, following a more than 10-hour negotiation session hosted by the […] Read more

Markets, Reuters

Loading of more than 140 grains ships in Argentina delayed due to strike

By Maximilian Heath, Hugh Bronstein, GFM Network News December 28, 2020

Buenos Aires | Reuters – Loading of more than 140 agricultural export ships in Argentina has been stalled by a port-side oilseed workers’ strike that started on Dec. 9, the head of the local chamber of soymeal manufacturers said on Monday, on the eve of talks on a new contract. The CIARA-CEC chamber of soy byproduct […] Read more

A locust is seen on a plant at Gran Guardia, Formosa, Argentina on June 1, 2020. (Photo: Senasa handout via Reuters)

Crops, Reuters

Argentina says hit by second locust swarm, farmers on alert

By Maximilian Heath, Hugh Bronstein, GFM Network News July 22, 2020

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Grains powerhouse Argentina is getting hit by a second swarm of locusts arriving from neighbouring Paraguay, Argentina’s Senasa agricultural health inspection agency said on Tuesday, putting farmers on notice about possible crop damage. The new swarm is concentrated in the province of Formosa in north-east Argentina, on the Paraguay border. […] Read more

Reuters, Soybeans

Argentina plans to export major amounts of soymeal to China in 2019

By Hugh Bronstein August 3, 2018

Beunos Aires | Reuters – Argentina expects to export significant amounts of soymeal to China starting after the next harvest in May, a top agriculture ministry official said on Friday, as the South American grains powerhouse moves to take advantage of U.S.-China trade strife. Argentine officials were in Beijing on Friday finalizing the paperwork needed to ship […] Read more

Reuters

U.S. says farmers could get cash aid by Oct. but will not be made whole

By Hugh Bronstein July 30, 2018

Buenos Aires | Reuters – U.S. farmers could receive cash payments from a planned $12 billion aid package as soon as late September, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told Reuters on July 28, warning that the program will not make tariff-hit farmers whole. Perdue said in an interview on the sidelines of the G20 meeting […] Read more

A gaucho drives a carriage through the pampas (lowland plains), a primary farming and ranching region of Argentina. (CIA.gov)

Crops, Reuters, Soybeans, Weather

Argentina’s soybean season ‘dead’

By Hugh Bronstein March 12, 2018

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Hope has withered for any recovery in Argentine soy yields hit by a four-month drought that shows no signs of abating, farmers and analysts said Monday, prompting China to step in to fill the gap in soymeal exports from the world’s No. 1 supplier. The dryness that has blighted the […] Read more

Reuters, Soybeans

Argentina begins phasing in cuts to soybean export tax

By Hugh Bronstein, Maximilian Heath January 2, 2018

Buenos Aires | Reuters – Argentina has cut its soybean export tax to 29.5 percent from a previous 30 percent, the first step in a plan to gradually reduce the levy to 18 percent over two years, the agriculture ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The plan will see the tax cut by one […] Read more

Crops, Reuters, Weather

Argentina declares flood emergency in six key farm provinces

By Hugh Bronstein February 19, 2016

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Six of Argentina’s main farm provinces were declared flood emergency areas by the government on Friday, making special credit lines and tax breaks available to affected growers in the soy- and corn-exporting powerhouse. The resolution, announced in the government’s morning gazette, covers the provinces of Cordoba, Santa Fe, Entre Rios, […] Read more

Corn, Crops, Markets, Reuters

Argentine corn sowing booms on optimism over new government

By Hugh Bronstein, Maximiliano Rizzi January 8, 2016

Buenos Aires | Reuters — A late-season corn planting flurry in No. 4 world exporter Argentina could push output to the same level as the previous crop year, thanks to the policies of the new government, the director of the local maize industry chamber said Friday. Growers across the Pampas farm belt applauded the November […] Read more

Hemp industry looking forward despite hurdles

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures gain

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans lower on the week

GFM Network News