Brazil votes on Sunday in a near-tie between Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro. The winner sets the rules on clearing the Amazon for cattle and soy

The rest of the day

11 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   China's 55% beef tax hits Brazil

   From 1 October, China charges an extra 55% tariff on Brazilian beef, on top of its usual rate, its commerce ministry said. [7] In January China gave each big supplier a yearly allowance and set the 55% charge on beef above it. [7] Brazil's allowance was 1.1 million tonnes, and China is the biggest buyer of its beef. [7] Brazil asked to use Uruguay's unused allowance, but industry insiders say China has not agreed. [7]

   Why it matters — Abiec, the group for Brazil's beef exporters, expects Brazil's beef exports to fall 10% this year. [7] Whoever wins Sunday's vote inherits the wait to see whether China renews the allowances for 2027. [7]

2. 03

   Wet cane holds back Brazil's sugar

   Brazil's sugar mills will let the weather, not the price, decide how much sugar they make until the harvest ends in December, analysts told Reuters. [8] Brazil is the world's largest sugar producer, and its mills can turn cane into sugar or into ethanol, a fuel. [8] Sugar prices rose more than 21% in August, and sugar now pays about 20% more than ethanol. [8] But parts of the sugar belt had the wettest winter in more than 100 years, and wet cane holds less sugar. [8]

   Why it matters — Each extra percentage point of cane sent to sugar adds about 750,000 tonnes to world supply, so buyers everywhere watch the choice. [8] StoneX, a broker, now expects Brazil's main region to make no more than 38 million tonnes, below the 40 million first expected. [8]

3. 04

   US corn stores 35% fuller than last year

   The US held 2.10 billion bushels of last year's corn on 1 September, 35% more than a year earlier, the US agriculture department's statistics service said on 30 September. [9] Corn stored off farms rose 44%. [9] Stored soybeans were down 3%. [9] All wheat in store fell 14%, and wheat held on farms fell 21%. [9]

   Corn35%

   Soybeans−3%

   All wheat−14%

   Why it matters — The count lands as US Midwest farmers start harvesting an estimated 20 billion bushels of corn and soybeans by the end of November. [11] So the new corn arrives on top of a bigger pile of old corn, while wheat is the crop in shorter supply. [9]

4. 05

   US farm costs rise as farm prices fall

   In August, US farmers were paid 2.0% less for what they sold than a year earlier, the statistics service said on 29 September. [10] What they paid for supplies, interest, taxes and wages was 5.3% higher. [10] From July to August, diesel, hay and animal feed got dearer, while nitrogen fertiliser and young cattle got cheaper. [10] The ratio between the two measures fell to 85, from 91 a year before. [10]

   -2.0%Prices farmers got

   vsvs

   +5.3%Prices farmers paid

   Why it matters — Livestock prices were 8.5% lower than a year ago, while crop prices were 6.2% higher. [10] So the fall in income lands on cattle, pig and dairy farms more than on grain farms. [10]

5. 06

   Midwest diesel jumps as the harvest starts

   In September, four of the five US states where diesel rose most were in the Midwest: Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. [11] There it cost more than $3 a gallon above a year ago. [11] A flood and a power cut shut ExxonMobil's refinery at Joliet, Illinois, for over a week. [11] A six-month union dispute also continues at BP's Whiting refinery in Indiana. [11] The Midwest has few refineries and cannot easily bring in fuel by tanker, so it struggles to replace what is lost. [11]

   Why it matters — Estimates say the dearer fuel adds about $12,500 to the cost of harvesting every 1,000 acres. [11] Joe Hamilton, who farms 2,500 acres in Indiana, expects to burn about 9,000 gallons of diesel in this harvest. [11]

6. 07

   England lets farmers refill reservoirs in October

   England's Environment Agency, which licenses who may take water from rivers, will let farmers with winter licences refill their reservoirs from 1 to 31 October. [12] Reservoirs in England are usually about 74% full now, but Ardingly in West Sussex is at 23% and Wimbleball in Somerset at 21%. [12] September brought 65% of the usual rain. [12] The window does not cover the main salmon rivers or places where spray irrigation is already restricted. [12]

   Why it matters — Anglian Water, which supplies about seven million people in the East of England, warned on 2 October that the drought could last into 2027. [13] Its Grafham Water reservoir is 60% full, and some rivers it pumps from are too low to use. [13]

7. 08

   MPs survey farmers after a fund shut in hours

   A committee of British MPs has opened a survey of farmers about the Sustainable Farming Incentive, England's scheme that pays farmers for work such as caring for hedges and soil. [14] Its second round of applications closed in less than six hours, on a first come, first served basis. [14] About 12,200 applications went in, worth about 20,700 pounds each on average, from a pot of 253 million pounds. [14] The survey closes on 16 October. [14]

   Why it matters — About 21,300 farm businesses have nature agreements ending by February 2027, but only about 8,800 of them applied, the consultancy GSC Grays says. [14] It warns that land now kept for wildlife and soil could go back to more intensive farming. [14]

8. 09

   A flat fee threatens farmers' clean-water credits

   England's first Environmental Delivery Plan, proposed for Norfolk, would let house builders pay a flat fee instead of offsetting the water pollution new homes add. [15] Natural England, the English government's nature agency, would charge about 2,675 pounds a home and spend the money on conservation. [15] Today builders mostly buy credits from farmers, who change how they use land so less nitrate and phosphate reach rivers. [15]

   2,675 poundsNatural England's fee

   vsvs

   3,500-9,000 poundsFarmers' credits

   Why it matters — The Environmental Farmers Group, which has more than 650 farmers, says private credits cost 3,500 to 9,000 pounds a home, so the fee could undercut them. [15] The head of the ecologists' professional body says only about a third of the plan's measures directly cut pollution. [15]

9. 10

   US ocean monitors go back into the sea

   A 238-foot ship set sail on Saturday to put back the first of a network of deep-sea monitors that the US government had begun removing. [16] The 368 million dollar network of about 900 instruments sat off Oregon, Washington, Alaska and North Carolina, and between Greenland and Iceland. [16] Its data serves weather forecasters, climate scientists and the fishing industry. [16] The National Science Foundation began taking it out in late 2025, though it was built to run 15 more years. [16]

   Why it matters — Scientists, fishermen and Congress all pushed back, and Congress forced the restoration. [16] The data matters more as a powerful El Nino, a warming of the Pacific that shifts weather, builds and affects fisheries. [16]

10. 11

    The FAO asks for money for dryland forests

    The FAO, the UN's food and farming agency, launched a call to action on dryland forests during World Forest Week in Rome. [17] Forests and trees in dry regions support the food and income of more than two billion people, it says. [17] Drylands cover about 41% of Earth's land and hold 27% of its forests. [17] About a quarter of dryland forest is already damaged, mostly as land is turned into farms and towns or over-used. [17]

    Why it matters — These trees feed herders' animals and give the poorest families fuel, wild food and income when crops fail. [17] The FAO proposes a new support scheme to help countries find long-term money and plan for these forests. [17]

11. 12

    Atmonia plans fertiliser made on the farm

    Atmonia, an Icelandic company, is scaling up a way to make ammonia, which farms use as nitrogen fertiliser, from nitrogen and water in one step. [18] The usual method first makes hydrogen and runs in huge plants that give off a lot of carbon. [18] Atmonia aims for a unit the size of a shipping container that makes about 150 tonnes of ammonia a year. [18] Its catalysts are made of common materials, its chief executive says. [18]

    Why it matters — The company wants to sell to a small-scale market that brings fertiliser making to the farmer. [18] Its process has not yet been run at this size, and the next step is a cell 40 times larger. [18]