Seed and chemical giant Bayer CropScience has expanded the role of one of its top managers, from handling its canola business to handling all oilseeds and wheat.
Garth Hodges, who works in Calgary as Bayer’s global canola business manager, has been appointed global manager for wheat and oilseeds as of this month.
Hodges’ new assignment, announced Monday by Bayer CropScience’s global head of bioscience, Joachim Schneider, is viewed as an expansion of “the responsibility and the work (Hodges) has been doing successfully in oilseeds over the past several years.”
Read Also
U.S. grains: Corn rebounds from contract lows on short covering, bargain buying
Bargain buying and short covering lifted U.S. corn futures on Monday after the market slid to contract lows on expectations for strong U.S. output, traders said.
InVigor canola today is the leading hybrid oilseed on the Canadian market and Bayer CropScience “remains committed to take its innovations in canola further,” the company said. Bayer in July opened a global canola breeding research facility near Saskatoon.
Hodges’ new role “signals a new focus for the company in the development of innovative solutions from seed to harvest for broad acre crops, including wheat,” Bayer said.
“This is expected to benefit wheat growers as the research focus is on the development of future varieties that could include enhanced stress tolerances, improved yields and better utilization of nutrients.”
The expansion also points to “a stronger integration between Bayer CropScience’s leading portfolios of crop protection solutions in wheat, plus research and development work in wheat genetics,” the company said.
