grain

Next time someone tells you that agriculture is an insignificant economic sector, you may want to draw their attention to the huge scale global nature of some aspects of it in rural communities in England.

Cargill, one of the “big four” cited in this story, for example, has a massive footprint in my home county of Lincolnshire

The article explains : “The Guardian has learned from separate sources that Afip [Argentina’s tax service] is seeking to claim $476m (£290m) for what is says are unpaid tax and duties from Bunge, $252m from Cargill, and $140m from Dreyfus.

“The companies have all denied all the allegations and have said they will defend themselves vigorously. With the global food system and who controls it under intense scrutiny in recent weeks, thanks to record prices, the legal battle between Afip and the big “ABCD four”, as they are known, has taken on heightened significance.”

This is big stuff in world terms and some of it is being managed, planned and fought over in rural England.