BY TYLER DURDEN
Last year was a bad year for corn — the latest US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report shows drought conditions and extreme weather wreaked havoc on croplands.
USDA unexpectedly slashed its outlook for domestic corn production amid a severe drought across the western farm belt. Farmers in Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas were forced to abandon drought-plagued fields.
The agency estimated farmers harvested 79.2 million acres, a decline of 1.6 million acres versus the previous estimate — the smallest acres harvest since 2008.
The unexpected cut to US harvested corn acres means grain supplies are a lot tighter than realized. A report Thursday showed the corn area in the world's largest producer is at the smallest since 2008 with crops failing in states such as Texas and Nebraska. That's due to persistent drought conditions in the western part of the country that could also hit harvests for wheat plants that are currently dormant for the winter. -- Bloomberg
The crop-failed lands reduced total harvest corn acreage to levels not seen since 2008. ........more below
This is Your President and the ultra rich & influential...smh😡🤬
Ambassador Andrey Kelin said Moscow would treat NATO soldiers on the ground as a security threat
Russia will treat the deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine as a threat to its security, Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin has said.
The diplomat rejected plans by the so-called Coalition of the Willing to send “peacekeepers” to Ukraine after a ceasefire is reached with Russia.
“We will not allow [the deployment] of any NATO member state’s troops on the territory of Ukraine because it will be another line of attack against Russia,” Kelin said in an interview with Channel 4 News aired on Wednesday. “We understand that Ukraine wants guarantees. We also need guarantees,” he added.
The diplomat said the presence of foreign troops on Ukrainian soil would be unacceptable. Asked about a Financial Times report that Ukraine and its European backers had agreed to deploy Western troops in the event of a violation of a potential ceasefire, Kelin said such plans were “dead.”
Kelin...
