A US federal judge has stymied California's global warming law, which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The law aims to drop the emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

US District Judge Lawrence O'Neill said California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard violated the US Constitution's Commerce Clause.

The standard aims to cut the carbon content in petrol 10 per cent by 2020 and replace up to 20 per cent of petrol consumption with renewable fuels such as ethanol.

Several groups - including the Fresno-based Nisei Farmers League and the Fresno County Farm Bureau - filed a lawsuit in December 2009, saying the law was in violation by seeking to regulate farming and ethanol production practices in other states.

Paraguay alert

MAJOR beef exporter Paraguay confirmed a new outbreak of foot and mouth disease last week, just days after lifting a state of emergency imposed in the region in September.

The Government said a "positive test result" of the highly contagious disease for cattle had been reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health.

Food stable

THE new head of the Food and Agricultural Organisation does not expect food prices to be as volatile in the short-term.

Jose Graziano da Silva said recent food price fluctuations were partly driven by foreign currency movements as well as low stocks and he did not expect prices to sharply rise or drop in the coming months.

Margins boost

MARGINS in Europe's meat industry will be boosted by stable to slightly declining prices for grains and oilseeds this year. Rabobank also said livestock prices would need to remain elevated to cover feed prices, which were still historically high.

Feed costs account for 50-70 per cent of the total cost of production for some European Union pork and poultry firms.