The damaged nuclear power plant in Japan came a lot closer to a full meltdown last spring than first thought. The company that runs the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant said Wednesday that the radioactive core inside Reactor 1 burned through a concrete containment barrier and nearly reached the soil below.

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Japan cut its production target of rice for food after this year’s harvest exceeded consumption and as demand may decline further after discoveries of grain tainted by radioactive cesium.

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Feed-wheat imports may surge to 430,000 metric tons from 112,000 tons in the year that ended 31 March, said Ikuho Tomita, deputy director at the agriculture ministry's feed supply and demand planning office. Imports were 473,000 tons in 2001.

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Osamu Tamaki is one of the few rice farmers in Japan who see an Asia-Pacific free trade deal as a window of opportunity rather than the death knell for a highly cosseted industry.

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Japanese authorities have halted the shipment of rice from some farms northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after finding higher-than-allowed levels of radioactive cesium, local authorities said Thursday.

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Japan has been the largest importer of Vietnamese plastic products in recent years with the value accounting for 24.7 per cent of Vietnam’s plastics exports.

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Japan's health ministry began deliberations Monday at a food safety panel on easing screening requirements for domestic beef and import restrictions on U.S. beef that were imposed over fears of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, according to the Japanese news agency Kyodo News.

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Japan would continue to help Viet Nam develop a multi-functional agricultural model as part of the Enhancing Functions of Agricultural Co-operative in Viet Nam-Phase 2, a project inked yesterday in Ha Noi.

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Japan's government Thursday outlined a basic policy to revitalize the country's agricultural sector, which stands to lose the most from a greater commitment to free trade favored by the administration of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

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Japanese consumers typically prefer fresh, home-grown rice, but that isn't true this year

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The continuing crisis at Japan's Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant has affected this year's autumn culinary delicacies in Fukushima Prefecture.

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To promote the use of US pork butt for traditional Japanese cooking, the US Meat Export Federation’s (USMEF) Japan office recently conducted a US pork recipe contest for consumers.

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Japan and South Korea, two of the world's largest importers of feed grains, are likely to step up purchases with global prices at their lowest levels in more than a month, trading executives said Monday.

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A rice farmer in Koriyama on Monday became the first grower of the year to start shipping his crop from Fukushima Prefecture after the local government detected no radioactive contamination and said there was no reason to worry about the quality of the harvest.

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No livestock farmers in the four prefectures worst hit by the March disaster have applied for a government aid program to help them resume operating, apparently because the qualification terms make it impossible, local authorities said.

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From July 12-15, 2011, four large seminars, organised by ISA Japan, took place in Tokyo, Nagoya, Kagoshima en Okayama.

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The government has pressed the country's dairy companies to limit price hikes following the recent adjustment in raw milk prices.

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Japan's food self-sufficiency rate fell one percentage point in 2010 to 39pc in fiscal 2010, dipping below 40pc for the first time in four years, the Japanese government says. The nation’s beef self-sufficiency rate fell from 43pc to 42 pc last year, while pork fell 2pc to 53pc, and chicken 2pc to 68pc. Higher feed ingredient prices was the major reason for the decline.

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A Japanese regional government said Friday that it had detected radioactive contamination in rice that was well below hazardous levels, amid continuing worries in Japan over food safety in the wake of the March 11 nuclear disaster there.

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The Japanese Ministry of Health & Livestock Welfare completed an audit of the Australian beef export system recently. During the week the Japanese auditors visited three beef abattoirs with similar outcomes at each.

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Japanese cattle farming investment business Agura Bokujo has filed for bankruptcy, blaming its financial stress on public concerns over nuclear contamination of beef, prompting a rise in cancelled beef contracts.

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The Korea Dairy and Beef Farmers Association said three days of talks failed to iron out differences on raising raw milk costs, confirming that its members rejected the hikes being offered by dairy companies.

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BIOMIN, a leading company in the global animal health and nutrition industry, announces the dates and destinations for the company’s biennial event, BIOMIN Asia Nutrition Forum. The forum will cater specifically to the Asian audience, spanning over six cities across Asia from 10 to 21 October, from Cebu to Pattaya, Coimbatore, Chang Sha, Zheng Zhou and Tokyo. The theme of the forum is “Sustainability: defining the basics, addressing the essentials, introducing NutriEconomics®”.

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Agura Bokujo, a cattle company running some 370 farms throughout Japan, has filed for bankruptcy protection, Kyodo News Agency reported.

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Merck Animal Health (known as MSD Animal Health outside the USA and Canada), formerly known as Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, announced today that it has donated about $30,000 (¥2.3 million) to three veterinary and farmer associations in Japan to support recovery of the Japanese animal sector following the earthquake and tsunami as well as its consequences that have struck the country in March 2011.

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Effective use of rice futures could help stabilize agricultural management and improve the transparency of the rice pricing system. We hope rice futures trading will be a step toward more market-oriented and competitive rice farming.

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The US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) yesterday released a risk analysis concerning the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) status of Japan and the risk of susceptible animals and animal products from Japan harboring the FMD virus.

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Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Thursday that the government has ordered Miyagi Prefecture to ban the shipment of all cattle from the prefecture. Edano said the step had been taken because radioactive cesium exceeding official safety limits had been found in some cows from the prefecture.

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The Japanese government will buy up all beef found to contain radioactive cesium at levels exceeding the allowable limit, and incinerate it, Kyodo News reported Thursday, citing a senior farm ministry official.

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The Japanese government may expand the area that beef cattle shipments would be subject to suspension beyond Fukushima Prefecture, where it plans to impose the curbs, Kyodo News Agency reported.

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Straw fed to cattle at a farm in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, was found to have high levels of radioactive cesium, local officials said Monday.

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As the shipping of brand cherries produced in open fields in Fukushima Prefecture reaches its peak, farmers are being hit hard by sharp drops in sales for gift use and the number of visitors to pick-your-own farms.

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Australian beef export trading this week reflected the weaker mood, with buyers taking time before committing to orders.

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Toyota makes Pigs life more bearable thanks to its new Swine Manure Compost Deodorizer

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Japanese media outlet Chikusan Nippo reported on June 11 that moves to freeze domestically-produced Japanese Wagyu carcases were beginning to be seen in the marketplace.

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A group of hatchery owners from Japan recently visited Sung Jin Hatchery and ISA Brown in South Korea.

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Post Golden Week (series of holidays in early May) demand has reportedly been slow for both the Australian export trading scene as well as the wholesale beef market in Japan. Australian beef export prices to Japan this week reflected the tough conditions, with chilled items particularly impacted by the lack of strong demand.

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Japanese authorities are extending the evacuation zone around the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant in a move that has implications for thousands of residents.

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A new partnership between Australian and Japanese farmers is seeking to extend a helping hand to the worst hit areas of Japan.

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Japan will start culling thousands of cattle and other livestock in the 20km evacuation zone around its stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, the government said.

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Japanese farmers in the shadow of the failed nuclear power station are desperate for clean and safe Australian hay for their cattle.

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On Tuesday, some 200 farmers from the Northeast part of the country, hit March 11 by the natural disasters and since then by the nuclear one, brought livestock and produce they can't sell to Tokyo, where they staged a protest at the headquarters of Tepco, the owner of the disabled nuclear power plant.

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Angry farmers brought two cows to Tokyo where they shouted and punched the air Tuesday in a protest to demand compensation for products contaminated by radiation spewing from Japan's crippled nuclear plant.

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US Grains Council reports that the Japanese government's latest tally of earthquake and tsunami damage to the nation's agricultural sector includes:

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With the flow of compound feed from outside areas, combined with feed produced in some of the mills in the Tohoku area which were capable of working, livestock farms in the Tohoku area could get roughly half of its normal demand during the month since the earthquake,” said Hiroko Sakashita, USGC associate director in Japan.

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With the flow of compound feed from outside areas, combined with feed produced in some of the mills in the Tohoku area which were capable of working, livestock farms in the Tohoku area could get roughly half of its normal demand during the month since the earthquake,” said Hiroko Sakashita, USGC associate director in Japan.

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A fresh Japanese earthquake, and tsunami warning tested a rally in agricultural commodities, sending wheat more than 1% lower and pulling back corn, which set a fresh record earlier.

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Japan's government has announced it will ban farmers from planting rice in soil contaminated by radiation from the tsunami-flooded nuclear power plant, adding to the list of items raising concerns about another food central to Japanese culture.

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Cattle in Japan’s Fukushima prefecture are struggling to survive as radiation leaks from a crippled nuclear power plant contaminate soil and water and force farmers to evacuate the area.

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Thousands of Japanese and US troops launched an intensive air and sea operation Friday to recover bodies still left from the huge earthquake and tsunami three weeks ago.

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