Reading Time: 2 minutes Frankfurt | Reuters — Germany’s Bayer plans to sell its digital farming business to BASF as part of changes to concessions it has offered to win over antitrust regulators for its proposed takeover of Monsanto . Bayer, which had previously only agreed to grant a licence to competitors, said on Wednesday that as part of […] Read more
Bayer to sell digital farming business to BASF
Bayer gets U.S. approval to buy Monsanto: report
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — German drugs and pesticides group Bayer has reached a deal with the U.S. Justice Department for antitrust approval for its US$62.5 billion bid to acquire Monsanto by agreeing to sell additional assets, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The Justice Department reached an agreement in principle with the two companies in recent days, […] Read more
Arkansas judge rules six farmers can spray dicamba
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — An Arkansas judge has ruled that six farmers in the state this summer can spray a weed killer made by Monsanto and BASF that was blamed for hurting millions of acres of U.S. crops last year. The decision is the latest twist in the saga surrounding dicamba-based herbicides and immediately sparked […] Read more
Bayer wins EU approval for Monsanto buy
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — German conglomerate Bayer won EU antitrust approval on Wednesday for its US$62.5 billion buy of U.S. peer Monsanto, the latest in a trio of mega-mergers that will reshape the agrochemicals industry. The tie-up is set to create a company with control of more than a quarter of the world’s seed and […] Read more
China conditionally approves Bayer’s Monsanto deal
Reading Time: < 1 minute Beijing | Reuters — Bayer on Tuesday secured conditional approval from China’s commerce ministry for its planned acquisition of the world No. 1 seed company Monsanto, chalking up a victory in an onerous struggle to win over watchdogs across the globe. The ministry also ordered the German drug and crop chemicals maker to spin off […] Read more
BASF in talks to buy Bayer vegetable seeds arm
Reading Time: < 1 minute Bayer has entered “exclusive talks” toward a deal to sell its global Nunhems vegetable seeds business to German chemical firm BASF, to help clear the aisle for a Bayer/Monsanto marriage. Nunhems, which has a portfolio of about 1,200 seed varieties in over two dozen different vegetable crops worldwide, sells seeds in North America for tomatoes, […] Read more
Bayer offers asset sales for EU approval of Monsanto deal
Reading Time: < 1 minute Brussels/Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer has offered to sell seeds and pesticides businesses to try to address EU competition concerns over its US$63.5 billion bid for U.S. rival Monsanto. The proposed remedies “are very significant and we are confident they fully address the European Commission’s concerns,” the German company said in a statement on Monday. […] Read more
The big 4
Where are all the mergers and acquisitions in the crop protection and seed sectors going to leave the individual farmer?
Reading Time: 9 minutes Sorting out who owns who in today’s agricultural supply sector is a bit like looking at that rat’s nest of cords and surge protectors behind your desk. Everyone’s too afraid to touch it because it’s so complicated and intertwined. Besides, it seems to be working, so why bother? Except… Canadian farmers spend billions in seed, […] Read more
Arkansas restricts dicamba for 2018
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — In a blow to manufacturers Monsanto and BASF, Arkansas state lawmakers voted on Friday to bar sprayings of a controversial weed killer after mid-April to protect farmers from potential crop damage. Arkansas will prohibit the use of herbicides based on dicamba from April 16 to Oct. 31, the strictest state limits […] Read more
Feed manufacturers to retool recipes under vitamin shortage
Reading Time: 2 minutes Feed manufacturers up against a global shortage of vitamins A and E will be able to temporarily reformulate their products for sale in Canada without a complete rewrite of their product labels. The shortage stems from an Oct. 31 fire during the startup of an aroma chemicals plant operated by global chemical firm BASF in […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
