Vietnam – Against the grain

Source: The Economist18/01/2014 – THE prospect from Sam mountain, a rocky outcrop in southern Vietnam’s Mekong delta, is timeless. Paddy fields shine emerald. Irrigation canals reflect the sunlight like mirrors. Three times a year, farmers in surrounding towns put on their rubber boots and plant rice seedlings in the deep soil. A few months later they…

USA – Report: U.S. rice crop estimate up

Source: Stuttgart Daily Leader14/01/2014 -The U.S. 2013-14 rice crop is estimated at 189.9 million cwt, up 1.2 million from the previous estimate, according to today’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE)  report. Average yield is estimated at a record 7,694 pounds per acre, up 34 pounds per acre. Harvested area is estimated at 2.468…