BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA — Beef and grain sales are being brought to a halt for seven days by Argentine farmers to protest President Cristina Fernandez's plan to funnel soy export taxes into an emergency fund for the provinces, according to The Associated Press. They are also protesting what they claim is their government's weak response to one of the worst droughts in a generation.

Argentina’s agricultural industry has been strongly impacted by the international financial crisis as demand has plummeted for beef, soy, corn and wheat exports.

As a result, thousands of farmers blockaded major highways March 20, in response to strikes that hurt Argentina's commodity-based economy last year.

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