Agmates

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Prime Minister Kevin Rudd tells us that based on the science coming out of the UN’s IPCC Australia must implement a Carbon Emissions reduction scheme.

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Kevin Rudd [ pictured at the UN]

“Well, I just look at what the scientists say. There’s a group of scientists called the International Panel on Climate Change - 4000 [2,500 actually] of them. Guys in white coats who run around and don’t have a sense of humour.

They just measure things. And what they say to us is it’s happening and it’s caused by human activity.

I am not, myself, a qualified scientist. I’m elected as Prime Minister of Australia to act on the basis of the considered scientific advice.”

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But look what else the Chairman of the IPCC Dr Rajendra Pachauri [pictured at the top] is urging the world to do to combat global warming:

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People should have one meat-free day a week if they want to make a personal and effective sacrifice that would help tackle climate change, the world’s leading authority on global warming has told The Observer

Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which last year earned a joint share of the Nobel Peace Prize, said that people should then go on to reduce their meat consumption even further.

Pachauri, who was re-elected the panel’s chairman for a second six-year term last week, said diet change was important because of the huge greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental problems - including habitat destruction - associated with rearing cattle and other animals.

‘Give up meat for one day [a week] initially, and decrease it from there,’ said the Indian economist, who is a vegetarian.

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Kevin Rudd has already singled his intention to blindly follow Pachauri and his humorless men in white coats considered scientific advise.

It needs to be asked, if Rudd subscribes to the IPCC ideology, what then are his plans for the Australian Meat industry? Does he endorse Dr Pachauri’s recommendations in regard to eating less meat?

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Despite the doomsday predictions of Climate Change alarmists this years world grain production is set to be the largest ever recorded.

Global grain production is forecast to hit a record 1.694 billion metric tons in 2008-09. This is up from 2007-08’s output of 1.617 billion.

The reason is worldwide higher wheat acreage which increased globally by 3% and favorable growing weather across the worlds major producing countries.

Of the 6 major grain types, wheat, corn, barley, sorghum, oats and rye the forecast rise in world production is mainly due to higher estimated wheat production.

World grain ending stocks are forecast to rise 9% coming in at 280 million tons. This is up from 2007-08’s 257 million, with production exceeding consumption.

Worldwide consumption of grains should increase by a modest 27 million tons coming in around 1.684 billion tons in 2008-09. Grain use by the U.S. ethanol industry and higher demand from emerging countries are the main reasons for increased consumption.

Global wheat production is forecast to come in around 669 million tons which is up from 604 million last year.

The Australian wheat crop has been forecast to come in around 21 million tonnes which is well up on last years drought affected 13 million tonnes. The good early spring rain that has fallen in Eastern Australia has some analysts now predicting this years crop could challenge the 2003 record of 26.1 million tons.

It’s almost impossible to reconcile the GW alarmists predictions of catastrophic climate change bringing global drought, pestilence and famine when we are having one of the best world wide grain growing years ever recorded.

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Have Your say! Am I missing something here? The GW alarmists and their computer modeling say we are at crisis point, yet the global climate has never been kinder to us as this years record grain production physically illustrates.

Russia has harvested 75.3 million metric tons of grain to Aug. 25 on 25.7 million hectares (63.5 million acres).

The total grain-planted area in Russia is 46.3 million hectares (114.4 million acres).

The average yield so far has been 2.93 tons a hectare (1.19 tons / acre).

Grain harvested to date was 22 million tons more than on the same date last year, with the average yields exceeding those reported on the same date last year by 0.55 tons a hectare.

Wheat harvest to date was 43.2 million tons on 13 million hectares (32 million acres), with the average yield of 3.35 tons a hectare (1.36 tons / acre).

Barley harvest was 17 million tons on 6 million hectares (14.8 million acres), with the average yield of 2.84 tons a hectare (1.15 tons / acre).

The total grain planted area to be harvested this year is 47 million hectares, 2 million hectares or also 5 million acres more than last year.

This year’s grain harvest is expected to come in at 95 million tons in clean weight.

This will be up 13 million tons on the 2007 harvest or up 16%.

Source:

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Agmates Editor Steve Truman writes:

Governments World wide are finding they need to be very careful about the policies and legislations introduce that impact upon their farmers. Governments are discovering that it’s citizens are incredibly sensitive to food security.

Argentina

Striking farmers are using tractors to blockade roads nationwide in a bitter 100 day stand off with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez. The blockades have lead to shortages of eggs, chicken, beef in supermarkets and fuel across the country.

Picture #1 - Argentine farmers line up tractors and blockade roads across the country.

In March President Fernandez raised Soy export taxes on farmers by 10% to a whopping 42%. Since then farmers and protesters lead by the very powerful farmers organization Argentine Rural Society have blockaded roads and streets across the country.

President Fernandez, who took office just six months ago, has likened the farmers to ‘Coup Leaders’ who are attempting to overthrow her government in an ‘Economic Coup’. President Fernandez’s has seen her voter approval rating plummet from over 50% before the dispute to just 20%.

Argentina’s accounts for nearly 3 percent of global food exports and it is one of the world’s top exporters of soy, corn, wheat and beef.

An estimated 3-4 million Argentines took to the streets on Monday to protest against the government’s handling of a tense three-month standoff with farmers over export taxes.

There are fears that the ongoing dispute will force Argentina Latin America’s No. 3 economy into recession.

Spain

Thursday the 19th June. Thousands of Spanish farmers protest in Madrid against fuel price hikes. Soaring costs and low prices for the produce are driving them out of business. Spanish farmers are demanding lower diesel tax to cope with record fuel prices.

Spaniards are facing fuel and food shortages as a result of a nationwide strike by the country’s truck drivers who are supporting farmers in the protest against high fuel prices.

Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Belgium

Earlier this month Dairy Farmers for the 1st time in Europe banded together in a milk delivery boycott that saw large supermarkets run out of milk.

German dairy farmers began a protest action to secure higher prices for their produce. The farmers were paid 35cents a litre which was well below their cost of production and they were going broke. Farmers all over the country poured milk down drains in a boycott of dairy factories.

Swiss farmers, too, poured milk down the drains in support strike action demanding an increase for higher farm- gate prices.

Similar declaration of solidarity had come from counterparts in Belgium after Germans appealed to farmers outside Germany not to fill the shortfall. The German farmers were demanding a farm-gate price of 40 euro cents (62 dollar cents) a litre for milk.

It was estimated that 70,000 of Germany’s 100,000 dairy farms joined the boycott. The farmers blamed powerful dairy companies for depressing the farm-gate price of milk. They said they are being choked by increased costs, namely the rise in the price of fuel.

The Boycott ended after 10 days when large Supermarket chains agreed to increase farm gate prices by 10 cents for producers.

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Agmates Editor Steve Truman writes:

The United States and South Korean Governments yesterday caved into people power and agreed to revise the terms of their beef exports agreement as South Korean protesters continue to demand a ban on beef exports from the U.S.

Until now the US government had refused to renegotiate the agreement stuck on the 18th of April. The agreement gave USA beef open access to South Korea and was pivotal to a US-SK Free Trade agreement signed by Pro US Korean President Lee Myung-Bak who only came to power at the end of February.

As a result of almost daily demonstrations that grew as large as 80,000 people (pictured above), Lee replaced all his top advisers and his entire Cabinet also has offered to resign.

In the last week protesters have been calling on President Lee to resign as public confidence in his government plunges.

Protesters have been furious that their government had caved into U.S demands and had failed to consider the public concern about the health risks.

Under the revised deal, the South Korea will only accept beef from cattle aged less than 30 months. Younger cattle are believed to be less prone to mad cow disease. The new restrictions are set to start Monday.

The revised deal is good news for the Australian beef industry that has enjoyed boom trade with the 50 million beef loving population of South Korea since it banned U.S beef in 2003 following the discovery of mad cow disease in the U.S herd.

The U.S had been playing hard ball and refusing to renegotiate the deal. However unrelenting pressure from the people, that if not addressed could ultimately have lead to the down fall of the Korean government has lead them to the back down.

The U.S have until now refused to renegotiate believing any back down because it would set a precedent for other countries to back out of unpopular trade agreements and make it almost impossible to get countries like Japan to drop it’s U.S beef trading restrictions.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a press release:

“The implications of this agreement set an unfortunate precedent for U.S. beef trade with Korea and other countries.”

This is proof that populations of the world are very sensitive about food security. All governments need to be very careful about the policies and legislations they make and the impact those decisions have upon their citizens. Governments who ignore these sensitivities do so at their own peril.
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