Reading Time: 2 minutes A Bayer CropScience fungicide is being pressed into service against sudden death syndrome (SDS) in Canadian soybeans. Bayer on Monday launched a new soybean seed treatment dubbed ILeVO, a suspension containing its Group 7 fungicide fluopyram at a rate of 600 grams per litre. ILeVO will be the first soybean seed treatment registered for use […] Read more
First soy seed treatment cleared against SDS
New soybean varieties in 2017 for Western Canada
Demand for soybeans just keeps rising on the Prairies
Reading Time: 7 minutes Three years ago, something interesting occurred in soybean production in Canada: in 2013, Manitoba became the second-leading producer of soybeans in the country. The province’s 1,068,200 acres of soybeans eclipsed the 847,000 acres produced in Quebec. And the figures continue to rise with each passing year, to the point where nearly 1.4 million acres came […] Read more
Hybrid wheat gets some real vigour
Will hybrid wheat finally live up to its promise, and will that be enough to encourage farmers to pay extra for the seed? Some big players bet they will
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s a typical June day in central Saskatchewan — a little windy, with sun trying to push through the clouds. A busload of people is touring the research plots at Bayer CropScience’s new wheat-breeding centre, near Pike Lake, south of Saskatoon. The bus includes wheat breeders, farmers, and executives — plus a little girl sitting […] Read more
ChemChina reported ready for concessions to clinch Syngenta deal
Reading Time: 3 minutes Beijing/Zurich | Reuters — State-owned Chinese chemicals group ChemChina is ready to offer more concessions to win European Union antitrust approval for its US$43 billion bid for Swiss pesticide and seed group Syngenta, a source with direct knowledge of the process said. Clinching China’s biggest-ever foreign acquisition is taking longer than planned amid a flurry […] Read more
Monsanto surprises with adjusted profit as expenses drop
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — U.S. seeds and agrochemicals company Monsanto, which agreed last month to be bought by Germany’s Bayer for US$66 billion, reported a surprise adjusted profit, helped by a drop in expenses and higher corn seed volumes. Monsanto agreed in September to a sweetened $128-per-share offer from Bayer that, if approved by regulators, would create […] Read more
Agricultural merger mania fuels fears among small seed sellers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Justice Department is looking into concerns that global consolidation among major seed and agricultural chemical companies may squeeze supplies of the building blocks for widely used genetically modified seeds, a farm group told Reuters. The department has asked the American Soybean Association for details about how small and independent […] Read more
U.S. lawmakers skeptical of ag chemical, seed merger wave
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. lawmakers expressed concern on Tuesday over a wave of mergers among companies that sell farmers their seeds, herbicides and insecticides, worrying that the deals could lead to higher prices and less innovation at a time of dropping farm incomes. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said the proposed mergers […] Read more
Bayer betting billions farmers will back linked-up supplies
Reading Time: 3 minutes Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer’s US$66 billion purchase of Monsanto amounts to a long-term bet that farmers will grow to trust combinations of seeds and pesticides rather than continue to pick from ranges of separate products. In the short term, the German drugs and chemicals firm hopes to benefit from a marketing and sales force […] Read more
Bayer clinches Monsanto with raised US$66 billion bid
Reading Time: 4 minutes New York/Frankfurt | Reuters — German drugs and crop chemicals company Bayer has won over U.S. seeds firm Monsanto with an improved takeover offer of US$66 billion including debt, ending months of wrangling after increasing its bid for a third time. The $128 a share deal announced on Wednesday, up from Bayer’s previous offer of […] Read more
Bayer sweetens Monsanto bid as talks enter final stretch
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — German pharmaceutical and crops manufacturer Bayer said on Monday that its negotiations with Monsanto had advanced, and that it was now willing to offer more than US$65 billion to acquire the world’s largest seeds company. Bayer’s announcement came as the gap in price expectations between the two companies has narrowed significantly, although important […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
