KEY POINTS:
The mad rush throughout the Americas to replace the petrochemical patriarchy with a biofuel behemoth is sending food prices through the roof worldwide.
And a study headed by a controversial Nobel Prize winner suggests that's not the only thing that may heat up.
The boost in emissions of
nitrous oxide - a greenhouse gas - from increased use of nitrogen fertiliser on crops destined for biofuel production could negate the benefits of shifting energy sources, or even warm the Earth to a greater degree than current projections indicate, the study says.
According to the scientific paper, whose main author is Paul Crutzen, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize for chemistry: "The replacement of fossil fuels by biofuels may not bring the intended climate cooling due to the accompanying emissions of N2O."
The study, published on the website of the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, claims the use of several agricultural crops for energy production could "readily lead to N2O emissions large enough to cause climate warming instead of cooling".
The study, which crucially has yet to be peer reviewed and appear in the actual journal, concludes that "the relatively large emission of N2O exacerbates the already huge challenge of getting global warming under control".
Despite Crutzen's pedigree, he controversially suggested last year that global warming might be counteracted using giant guns or balloons to inject sulphur into the stratosphere, a hypothesis that has attracted high-profile criticism from the likes of British environmental writer George Monbiot.
NOT SO OPEN
Dairy Trust trumpeted its takeover bid for Open Country Cheese as an unconditional triumph last week, but in reality the Affco offshoot's play for control of the Waikato cheese exporter barely scraped through.
Dairy Trust needed a minimum of 50.1 per cent of acceptances from Open Country shareholders to make the grade. After a lengthy and dramatic saga involving repeated extensions and an upward revision, it gained 52.4 per cent of its target's shares.
"Following the allotment of Dairy Trust shares to acceptors of the offer, Affco will retain ownership of approximately 44 per cent of Dairy Trust through its wholly owned subsidiary Affco New Zealand Ltd," said Affco and Dairy Trust chairman Sam Lewis in a statement to the stock exchange.
Regardless of the merit of the offer and its implications for the future of both companies in a rapidly evolving dairy sector, some Open Country shareholders could be excused for feeling they have been kept less than in the loop.
Besides Affco's notice on the NZX, neither Dairy Trust nor Open Country had seen fit to gazette the milestone on Unlisted, the securities trading platform on which the latter trades, come the end of play on Friday.
Then there is the question of the failure to alert all and sundry that the offer had been extended yet another week beyond July 24, the date flagged in Dairy Trust's early July notice that it was revising its offer.
BIG SPEND-UP
Gross agricultural revenue grew 12 per cent to $19 billion in the year ended March 31, on the back of massive rises in dairy export values and volumes and a smaller boost from horticulture and meat, says a Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry survey issued on Friday.
But the Situation and Outlook for New Zealand Agriculture and Forestry 2007 report says the amount farmers have spent on their farms has also risen - 6 per cent in the past two years.
Although farmers have reduced the overall quantity of farm inputs, the value of expenditure on them has continued to rise to a staggering $10.4 billion.
Fortunately, the report says, recent data shows farm expense inflation slowing, "therefore, with the high New Zealand dollar, prices for imported farm inputs should fall".
However, rapid increases in the amount of credit extended to agriculture and in the interest rate have boosted the amount of interest the sector has paid.
All said, though, it predicts that the falling exchange rate, firm international prices and increases in volume will see agricultural income grow 5 per cent this year and 24 per cent the next.
GOING SMOOTHLY
Deer farmers appear to have emerged from the doldrums, with farm-gate prices for venison and velvet up in the year to March 31.
MAF says de-stocking prompted by the past three years' low venison prices and increased demand in Germany have boosted international venison prices, lifting the value of exports 7 per cent for a total of $260 million last year.
However, the decrease in the volume of venison produced and exported is, ironically, expected to cut export earnings by 3 per cent this year.
But farm gate returns should gradually improve despite a currency expected to stay strong until the second half of next year.
In its annual "Situation and Outlook" report, MAF said velvet prices had also benefited from strong economic growth in South Korea.
The report predicts that with the increase in farm-gate venison and velvet prices, the size of the breeding hind herd will stabilise at slightly less than 700,000 animals.
This means the total number of deer slaughtered will fall to 465,000 in the year ending next June 30, down from the peak of 738,000 in the year ending June 30,2005.
The report says the gradual nature of forecast increases in farm-gate venison prices is expected to discourage rapid rebuilding of herds.