China's drive to boost grain production has entered a bottleneck where it is difficult to increase production further, state media reported on Monday, as Beijing launched a new drive to raise domestic output by 50 million metric tons by 2030.

China’s drive to boost grain production hits bottleneck, state media says

USDA sheds new light on bird flu dairy herd infections
Virus may have been spread through milking equipment, dairy workers
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) updated stakeholders on how a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) strain may have spread to dairy cattle in several states yesterday.

Calls to eliminate the carbon tax grow after the April 1 increase
Opposition to the federal price on pollution ramped up last week as several premiers called for a meeting with the prime minister to discuss the issue.

World food prices rebound from three-year low, says UN agency
World food prices rebounded in March from a three-year low, boosted by increases in vegetable oils, meat and dairy products, according to the United Nations food agency's latest price index.

Bird flu dairy cow outbreak widens in Ohio, Kansas, New Mexico
Bird flu has infected a dairy herd in Ohio for the first time and was detected in additional herds in Kansas and New Mexico, according to the U.S. government, expanding an outbreak in cows that has raised concerns about possible risks to humans.

Wider bird flu spread raises concern for humans, animal health body says
Virus has spread to new regions, infected cats, tigers, bears, seals and other animals
The spread of bird flu to an increasing number of species and its widening geographic reach have raised the risks of humans being infected by the virus, the head of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Thursday.

Ontario court strikes down portions of ‘ag-gag’ anti-trespass law
Decision a "decisive victory," animal rights proponents say
Some sections of Ontario’s so-called ag gag law have been struck down by the province’s Superior Court. The court ruled April 2 that certain provisions within the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act 2020 violate the right of freedom of expression under the Charter of Rights, declaring them to have no force or effect.

Beijing nudged Syngenta to withdraw $9 billion Shanghai IPO on market weakness, sources say
China's securities watchdog's tighter scrutiny of IPOs has led some companies to scrap plans, move offshore
Chinese authorities nudged Swiss agrichemicals and seeds group Syngenta to withdraw its application for a long-delayed $9 billion IPO in Shanghai on concerns about the impact a sizeable new offering would have on a volatile market, four people said.

Europe’s restless farmers are forcing policymakers to act
Polls suggest the general population is on farmers' side; farmers lynchpins of rural economies say leaders
European policymakers have scaled back rules to protect nature, drawn up limits on the import of tariff-free Ukrainian grains and scrapped new legislation limiting pesticide use as farmers' protests resonate with voters ahead of elections.

Cal-Maine Foods halts egg production at Texas facility after detecting bird flu
American egg producer Cal-Maine Foods has temporarily halted production at its Texas facility after detecting avian influenza, which has led to the culling of about 1.6 million laying hens, the company said today.