Reading Time: 2 minutes Buenos Aires | Reuters –– The company that led the breakneck expansion of Argentine soy cultivation over the last two decades has quietly reduced the area it farms by more than half as inflation, trade restrictions and high taxes drain growers’ profits. Los Grobo, once known as the South American country’s “King of Soy” has […] Read more
Argentina’s ‘Soy King’ abdicates in favor of biotech
USDA approves Monsanto’s new GMO soybeans, cotton
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Monsanto Co. received final U.S. approval on Thursday for herbicide-tolerant crops to be used with a new herbicide the company says will fight problematic weed resistance on farm fields, but critics say will only worsen the problems. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said the genetically modified […] Read more
CBOT soybeans poised to drop below US$10
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — The Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures market has dropped sharply during the week ended Wednesday, and is poised to fall even further. “For March soybeans, I think it could potentially trade back to the US$9.45-$9.50 per bushel area,” said Terry Reilly of Futures International in Chicago (all figures US$). A bearish […] Read more
Brazil says key soy road won’t be paved until 2016
Reading Time: < 1 minute Brasilia | Reuters –– An important road for soy and corn shipments linking to ports in northern Brazil will not be paved until 2016, the country’s transport minister said on Tuesday. President Dilma Rousseff said last year that the highway, known as BR-163, would be ready by mid-2015 as the government tries to relieve crowded […] Read more
Argentina denounces farmer soy hoarding, says hurts state income
Reading Time: 2 minutes Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentine growers hoarding soybeans to protect themselves from inflation are hurting both state and farm income in the world’s No. 3 exporter of the oilseed, a top government official said Thursday. The South American country pioneered the use of plastic horizontal silos to stockpile grains. Growers are hanging onto soybeans, […] Read more
China approves Viptera corn, two types of soybeans
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– A top Chinese government official said the country has approved imports of genetically modified Agrisure Viptera corn and two varieties of biotech soybeans after years of review, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday. Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang said imports of Viptera corn, known as MIR 162, had been approved by […] Read more
On the sidelines
Disease resistance isn’t a big corn or soybean issue today, but...
Reading Time: 6 minutes With so many stories about resistance hitting the farm news in the last five years, any new stories about chemical resistance on the farm now tend to generate one of two reactions: disinterest (approaching boredom) or a touch of hypersensitivity. Neither is the best reaction, especially with all the new learnings about the possibilities of […] Read more
Argentine state bank to cut off farmers who hoard soy
Reading Time: 2 minutes Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentina’s main state bank will deny credit to farmers who are holding onto soybeans as a hedge against inflation, a top official said on Friday, as the government cracks down on crop hoarding as part of a campaign to build up its dollar reserves. The grains-rich but cash-poor South American […] Read more
Corn, soy chop around waiting for harvest to conclude
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — ICE soybeans finished higher for the week ended Wednesday on volatile trade as demand for supplies outweighed concerns over the growing potential of the crop in South America. Traders will likely square positions and look for bargains during the next week of trading on the corn and soybean market, according to a […] Read more
Ontario’s curbs on neonics may protect bees but diminish crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters –– Ontario’s move to protect bees by reducing use of a pesticide seed treatment may diminish corn and soybean production, seed companies said on Wednesday. Beekeepers welcomed the move by Ontario, the first North American government to curb use of seed treated with neonicotinoids, which are used to kill insects that harm […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
