Evolution of oilseed sector in Romania - an analysis from the perspective of effects produced by the COVID-19 pandemic

Romania ranks first in the European Union for the production of sunflower seeds, third for the production of soybeans and seventh for the production of rapeseed. The paper aims to analyse the effects produced by the COVID-19 pandemic on the evolution of the oilseed sector in Romania. Thus, the following indicators were analysed: evolution of areas under oilseeds, total oilseed production and average yields, as well as the volatility of selling prices for oilseeds. The results of the study reveal that Romania has been the largest producer of sunflower seeds in the European Union. The average yields in sunflower, soybeans and rapeseed have shown great variations in the analysed period. According to Eurostat data, it can be noticed that although Romania is the third large producer of oilseeds in the EU, the average yields continue to be low compared to those from other large EU producers. Yields are also among the most volatile in the EU. The selling prices for soybeans showed a higher increase in the year 2020 than in 2019 in Romania, compared to the increase in the average selling prices of the EU-27 (+9.89%). The selling prices for rapeseed also had a higher increase in 2020 than in 2019 in Romania, compared to the increase in the average selling prices of the EU-27 (+2.31%).

Soybean science challenge: growing soybean education beyond our borders

The Soybean Science Challenge (SSC) continues to support Arkansas STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) educational goals. It aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Junior high and high-school students are engaged in active learning and the co-creation of knowledge through the support of classroom-based lessons and applied student research. The SSC educates and engages junior high and high school science students and teachers in 'real-world' Arkansas-specific soybean science education through an original NGSS-aligned curriculum in 7E and GRC-3D format and a continuum of educational methods, which include: teacher workshops, online and virtual live stream education, virtual NGSS aligned mini-lessons for the science classroom, community gardens, personal mentoring, student-led research and corresponding award recognition, and partnerships with state and national educators, agencies and the popular media. The COVID19 global pandemic continued to alter the educational landscape in 2021, despite increased in-person instruction. The Soybean Science Challenge (SSC), by nature of its existing design and methodology, launched online Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) aligned Gathering Reasoning and Communicating (GRC)-3D and 7E lesson plans for teachers. An online course was added, including NGSS-aligned mini-lesson videos for the science classroom, and additional virtual field trips were added to the list on the Soybean Science Challenge website. The Challenge also sponsored the Arkansas Science Teacher Association Conference in October 2021, and the SSC Coordinator Diedre Young conducted a workshop on bringing agriculturally based lessons into the science classroom. The Soybean Science Challenge was also active in science fairs across the state, judging participants at both the regional and state levels. The SSC is in its second year of the junior level award at regional science fairs. Through the SSC, teachers now have access to a plethora of educational instructions that bring real-world agricultural critical thinking into the classroom and students' homes. The SSC has learned that not only do Arkansas teachers and students benefit from these additional resources but teachers and students from other states benefit as well. In 2021, the SSC program reached over 3,000 students and teachers through in-person, digital, virtual, and print methods.

Current situation of soybean production and consumption in China and strategies to improve self-sufficiency rate

Low self-sufficiency rate and the higher foreign dependence rate of about 87% have seriously threatened the soybean safety in China. In recent years, with the changes of the international situation and the COVID-19 epidemic, soybean production, processing and consumption in China have attracted more attention at home and abroad. China unveiled "No. 1 central document" proposed a soybean revitalization plan in 2019, putting forward the goal of "one expansion and two improvements" to strengthen the competitiveness of China's soybean industry in the international agricultural market. This paper reviewed the current situation of soybean production, processing, trade and consumption in China in recent years, and upgraded strategies to enhance China's soybean industry and enhanced the self-sufficiency rate according to China's national conditions.

17th Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships (SIP-17), Online, 25-30 July 2021

Originally, the 17th Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships (SIP-17) was scheduled to take place in Leiden, The Netherlands, in July 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the symposium was postponed to July 2021 and held in an exclusively online format. This exceptional edition has resulted in four strong contributions to the journal. It is with great pleasure that we now present a themed issue including the proceedings of SIP-17, supplemented with eight regular articles within the subject of insect-plant relationships.

Agri-food trade in 2020

The year 2020 marked one of the biggest recessions in global economic activity and world trade. During this period, the EU economy contracted by 6% and its international trade followed a similar downward trend - EU exports of goods decreased by 9% and imports by 12%, compared to 2019. By contrast, EU international trade in agri-food reported a slight growth. Over the course of 2020, the value of EU agri-food exports increased to 184.3 billion (a growth of 1.4% compared to 2019), while the value of imports rose to 122.2 billion (a growth of 0.5%). As a result, the EU further reinforced its leading position among the world's biggest exporters. On the import side, the EU has become the third largest importer after the US and China. The contraction in global trade was accompanied by increasing prices of food, including commodities as evidenced by the increases reflected in the FAO Global Price Index. The EU exports a wide range of products from all parts of the value chain which demonstrates the competitiveness of the EU agri-food sector in a variety of product classes ranging from commodities to highly processed food industry products. EU imports, on the other hand, are clearly dominated by basic agricultural food and feed products, which represent about 75% of all imports. Looking at product categories, exports of pig meat and wheat strongly contributed to the increase in EU overall agri-food exports. Conversely, spirits and liqueurs as well as wine are among the sectors that experienced a difficult period for a number of reasons (e.g. the COVID pandemic, US retaliatory tariffs). The growth in EU agri-food imports was mainly driven by increases in import values for oilseeds, other than soya beans;fatty acids and waxes, palm oil, fruit including tropical fruit, and soya beans. China, Switzerland and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region were the major growth destinations for EU agri-food exports in 2020. The value of EU exports fell most to the United States, Turkey, Singapore and Japan. In terms of imports, Canada grew significantly as a source for the EU imports. By contrast, EU imports declined most in value from the United Kingdom, Ukraine and the United States. In 2020, the UK has become the EU's most important partner in agri-food trade, with a share of 23% in total EU agri-food exports and 13% in total imports. With EU exports and imports both decreasing, its trade surplus with the US increased by 2% when compared to 2019, as falls on the imports side were stronger. China became the top destination for US agri-food exports. EU agri-food exports to China were primarily driven by continued record high sales of pig meat which increased by 74%. Pig meat and meat offal - the latter mainly comprised of products originating from pigs - accounted for over 40% of EU exports to China in 2020, demonstrating the importance of this market for the pig meat sector. Brazil's exports to China continued to increase in 2020, absorbing 35% of its total agri-food exports. Combined agri-food exports from Brazil to the EU and the US now account for half of Brazilian exports to China. In 2020, Brazil supplied 50% of extra-EU demand for soya beans and 40% for oilcakes. Wheat continued to be the leading EU export product to Africa with a 23% share of the EU's total export basket, whereas cocoa beans dominate in the EU imports from Africa, with the same share of 23%. Most African countries benefit from duty-free, quota-free access to the EU market under the "Everything But Arms" scheme and for many of them Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) or other trade agreements with the EU are applied, encouraging regional cooperation and trade. In 2020, the EU applied 45 free trade agreements (FTAs) with 77 partners. The share of agri-food trade under preferential agreements is also expanding and in 2021, it accounted for 31% and 41% of total EU agri-food exports and imports, respectively. The value of EU agri-food trade under preferential agreements expanded more in relative terms compared to total EU agri-food trade. EU agri-food ex

USDA outlook for 2021 shows healthy recovery

It is reported that the USDA outlook for US agriculture in 2021 is generally positive. Most agricultural markets, including the major markets for Iowa, have recovered from the depths of the price declines that struck during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the basic statistics (such as production, exports, imports, and prices) for cattle/beef, pigs/pigmeat, maize and soyabeans are presented.

Soybean Science Challenge: sustaining education during a pandemic

The Soybean Science Challenge (SSC) continues to support Arkansas STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) educational goals, is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and engages junior high and high school students in active learning and the co-creation of knowledge through support of classroom-based lessons and applied student research. The SSC educates and engages junior high and high school science students and teachers in 'real-world' Arkansas specific soybean science education through original NGSS aligned curriculum in 7E and Gathering Reasoning and Communicating (GRC)-3D format and a continuum of educational methods which include: teacher workshops, online and virtual education, NGSS aligned mini-lessons for science classrooms, community gardens, personal mentoring, student-led research and corresponding award recognition, and partnerships with state and national educators, agencies, and the popular media. The COVID-19 global pandemic altered the educational landscape in 2020 and continues to do so. The new educational environment has seen an increase in virtual classrooms, online courses, and interactions with Zoom © . The Soybean Science Challenge (SSC), by nature of its existing design and methodology, was and is amid these methods by launching online Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) aligned Gathering Reasoning and Communicating (GRC)-3D and 7E lesson plans for teachers, adding an online course, adding NGSS aligned mini-lesson videos for the science classroom, and adding virtual field trips to the list on the Soybean Science Challenge website. The Challenge also sponsored the virtual Arkansas Science Teacher Association Conference, and the SSC Coordinator taught virtual workshops on bringing agriculturally based lessons into science classrooms. The Soybean Science Challenge virtually judged participants at both the regional and state level, and SSC added a junior level award at regional science fairs. Through the SSC, teachers now have access to a plethora of educational instructions that bring real-world agricultural critical thinking both into the classroom and the homes of students.

Soybean trade report: trend and risk analysis

This report presents organized and structured information on soybean trade indicators across geographical space and through time. The indicators considered are exports, imports and prices. These also are presented at the by-product level. The levels of aggregation are global, U.S. and North Dakota. The information of each indicator is presented in the form of trends and descriptive statistics. The former reveals the direction of the growth, while the latter reveals the magnitude of expectations. The descriptive statistics are represented by the mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation and share contribution to the total. The report is presented in six sections: (I) global temporal soybean trade, (II) global spatial soybean export, (III) global spatial soybean import, (IV) U.S. temporal soybean export, (V) U.S. spatial soybean export and (VI) U.S. state level soybean export. At the global level, the trends of the indicators are presented in addition to the descriptive statistics of the top 15 exporting and importing countries. The trends and descriptive statistics for the top 15 exporting states also are provided at the U.S. level. This report is important because it serves as an informational guide on exports, our competitors for exports and potential markets for soybeans to our producers. In the current environment, the success (productivity and net farm income stability) of agricultural business depends on accurate prediction of potential demand for soybeans and their products to help producers in making decisions for domestic or foreign markets. Hence, having a comprehensive and accurate database on exports and imports at the global, national and state levels will enable producers in decisionmaking with confidence. To formulate trade policies related to the international market, the trends and the descriptive statistics are useful to producers in identifying variations in demand for soybeans and their products. For decision makers, this information is helpful in the development of risk management tools for potential export losses due to risky events such as politically driven tariffs and uncertain events such as COVID-19. Finally, in the years of decline, identifying sources of variation or risk in changing consumer preferences, genetically modified restrictive index, trade facilitation and prosperity indexes is important. The study reveals that: Global Trade * The soybean market has shifted to processed products. * Soybean grain, residue and crude oil are primary with an increase in flour. * Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Canada are the major competitors with the U.S. for soybean grains. * China, Japan, Netherlands, Spain and Germany are the major destinations for soybean grain. * Soybean grain prices have been on the decline in recent years. U.S. Trade vii * China, Mexico, Japan, Indonesia and Netherlands are the major destinations for U.S. soybean grains. * Turkey, Russia, Argentina and Italy are among the top 15 importers of soybean grains but not part of the top 15 U.S. export destinations. U.S. State Trade * Our state-level estimates of trade are consistent with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) exports. In contrast, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) under- and overestimates state exports because they are based on the location of the port. * Our production-adjusted state export estimates suggest the major exporters of soybeans are Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, South Dakota, North Dakota and Kansas. North Dakota Trade * North Dakota soybean exports are underestimated by the USDA FAS. * For instance, the production adjusted export value predicts a value of $885,365,842 in 2018, while the ERS method predicted $887,896,380 for North Dakota. On the other hand, the FAS method presents a value of $62,543,314.

Will Iowa farmland values continue to rise?

This article shows how the agricultural commodity markets and the land market have gained noticeable strength since fall 2020 due to COVID-19. Record government support, historically low interest rates, and surging agricultural exports led to a near-10% hike in farmland values for almost all Midwestern states. The two most recent quarterly surveys on farmland values of agricultural lenders by the Federal Reserve Banks of Kansas City and Chicago are presented in this paper. Moreover, the surging crop and land prices offer optimism to landowners, producers, and agricultural professionals, and once again proves the resiliency of agricultural real estate values. The estimates from an online survey on land value trends and crop prices for corn and soybean in Iowa were provided. Overall, agricultural professionals expect a continuation of the growth spree in farmland values in their local service areas over the next 18 months.

Identifying possible misspecification in South African soybean oil futures contracts. (Special Issue: Special collection of articles on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on South African agriculture.)

With the inclusion of a locally traded soybean oil futures contract, that is dual-listed and cash-settled of the Chicago Board of Trade futures contract, the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX) aimed to provide local soybean crushing plants, the opportunity for managing their exposure toward the variation in soybean oil prices using effective hedging strategies. Which is only viable assuming adequate liquidity, that is currently lacking in these futures contracts. The soybean oil contract used for hedging local price exposure should also reflect local import parity and/or be correlated to local price movements. Therefore, with most soybean oil usually being imported from Argentina, one would expect SAFEX soybean oil futures contracts to reflect the cost of imported soybean oil from Argentina. Hence, the research study used the Engle-Granger (1987) cointegration approach, alongside a range of diagnostic tests to determine whether SAFEX soybean oil futures contracts, that is dual-listed and cash-settled of CBOT settlement values is a misspecification and whether or not SAFEX soybean oil futures contracts should rather be based on the Argentina free-on-board soybean oil prices which is a much better representation of South Africa's import parity and local industry prices.