CHINA's BATTLE WITH
AFRICAN SWINE FEVER:
An unprecedented outbreak
of African Swine Fever
in China killed up to half
of their pigs.
The disease
was first reported
in Shenyang, Liaoning
Province, in early
August 2018.
By the end
of August 2019,
the pig population
of China
had dropped
by about 40% !
China accounted
for more than half
of the global
pig population
in 2018,
so according to
the New York Times,
the number of pigs
that have
been wiped out
in China is equivalent to
“nearly one-quarter
of all the world’s pigs ... "
African Swine Fever
has now been identified
in 50 countries, so
U.S. pig farmers
are worried,
AFRICA's LOCUST INVASION:
the prior article was an update
NOW AUSTRALIA's
WORST SUMMER
HARVEST EVER ?
( I'll expand this articla
in a few months when
actual data become
available )
Now very hot and dry
conditions in Australia
may cause the worst
agricultural production
since 1980 - 1981,
when record keeping
first began.
The agriculture
department expects
production of crops
like sorghum, cotton
and rice to fall 66% !
“It is the
lowest summer
crop production
in this period,
by a large margin,”
said Peter Collins,
a senior economist
with the
agriculture
department’s
statistical body,
ABARES.
The U.S. Department
of Agriculture reported
that in 2018 - 2019,
Australia exported
over 9 million tons
of wheat to the
rest of the world.
Now Australia
has started
to import wheat !