Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s government told ranchers and farmers on Friday to stop setting fire to the Amazon rainforest as clouds of dense gray smoke make the air increasingly unbreathable in the northern city of Manaus, threatening sanctions if they do burn areas of land. “Fire is not natural in the Amazon, it […] Read more
Brazil tells landowners to stop setting fires in Amazon ‘climate emergency’
Properties could be embargoed, agency says
U.S. Lawmakers seek to limit corporate, foreign ownership of farmland
Farm groups, lawmakers are concerned that foreign, investor ownership is driving up prices and threatening national security
Washington | Reuters – U.S. lawmakers from both parties are pushing legislation that would limit who can own American farmland, with a latest effort from Democratic Senator Cory Booker aimed at curbing corporate ownership. Farm groups and lawmakers are concerned that land buys by investors and foreign countries are driving up farmland prices and threatening […] Read more
Pressure increases on farmland
CAPI report highlights what’s needed to save farmland while increasing production and protecting the environment
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ensuring Canada remains an agricultural powerhouse requires concerted efforts to preserve the country’s natural capital and resources, particularly farmland, according to a recent Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) report. With long-term planning, the pressures affecting agricultural productivity and farmland loss in Canada can be navigated, bringing greater prosperity and environmental improvement at home, as well […] Read more
Saskatchewan drainage work rebates expanded to farmers
Channel clearing, drain maintenance program shares eligible costs
A program to help rural Saskatchewan municipalities and local authorities cover costs of channel clearing and maintaining drains for flood prevention will now expand to include individual landowners. The province’s Water Security Agency (WSA) said Friday its $1 million cost-share rebate program will expand its eligibility beyond RMs, conservation and development area (C+D) authorities and […] Read more
Brazil justice grants Congress more time on bill limiting Indigenous rights
Case pits Indigenous against Big Ag
Brasilia | Reuters — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Wednesday asked for more time to study a case pitting the country’s Indigenous people against its powerful farm sector, a decision that is likely to give lawmakers more time to pass a measure favouring Big Agriculture. The decision by Justice Andre Mendonca, an Evangelical pastor […] Read more
Buy or rent? Land rent-to-price ratio can help farmers decide
FCC sees current ratios on farmland as (roughly) stable
Higher interest rates don’t seem to be affecting the ratio between land values and land rental costs — at least, not yet. Farm Credit Canada’s latest analysis of farmland rental prices says they’re roughly maintaining their traditional linkage, says J.P Gervais, the organization’s chief economist. “We were curious to see whether that would bring up […] Read more
Alberta farmland values up 10 per cent on average
Alberta's increase comes in below a national average that exceeded expectations
Reading Time: 4 minutes Average Alberta farmland values rose 10 per cent in 2022, according to Farm Credit Canada statistics released March 13. That’s less than the 12.8 per cent average for the rest of the country, but it’s the largest increase the province has seen since 2015, when prices rose 11.6 per cent. Last year’s figure follows increases […] Read more
North Korea’s Kim demands more farmland to boost food production
Seoul | Reuters — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered improvements to infrastructure and expansion of farmland to ramp up food production, state media said on Thursday, amid warnings of an impending food crisis. Kim gave instructions to revamp irrigation systems, build modern farming machines and create more arable land as he wrapped up […] Read more
At least 12 killed in Nigeria attack over farmland
Gunmen appear in village in north
Abuja | Reuters — Gunmen have killed at least 12 people in an attack on a village in the northern Nigerian state of Plateau, residents and the state governor said on Wednesday, the latest deadly incident fuelled by growing pressure on land resources in the country. Violence between farmers and pastoralists has become increasingly common […] Read more
Nigeria’s flooding spreads to Delta, upending lives, livelihoods
Over a million acres of farmland damaged, wrecked
Rivers State, Nigeria | Reuters — People wade through fast-flowing water, holding one another to avoid being swept away, balancing suitcases, clothing and food on their heads. The torrent was, until recently, the East-West Road in Nigeria’s Rivers state, the gateway to the nation’s oil and gas. Now parts of Rivers, along with large swathes […] Read more
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