Corteva Agriscience, which spun off from the merged Dow and DuPont in 2019, got its canola seed breeding lab and research station in Saskatoon from the Dow AgroSciences end of the merger. (Video screengrab from Corteva.ca)

Supercluster backing canola protein production

Reading Time: 3 minutes The federally-backed research and development “supercluster” set up to boost Canada’s protein industries is funding work to wring more and better proteins out of canola seed. In Saskatoon on Wednesday, federal Industry Minister Navdeep Bains announced the Protein Industries Canada (PIC) supercluster has approved a new $27.6 million project to breed high-protein canola hybrids for […] Read more

Covantis developers said they met with industry stakeholders in Brazil in October to discuss how their system would apply in soybean traffic between Brazil and China. (Covantis.io)

Major grain traders’ e-transaction platform gets name

Reading Time: 2 minutes The blockchain-based global commodity transaction platform being developed by six of the world’s biggest agrifood firms is moving ahead with a new name and project leader. The six companies — ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus, Cofco and Glencore Agriculture — announced Wednesday the project will be named Covantis, and have hired former ADM executive Stefano […] Read more


Piglets at a hog operation in China. The U.S.-China trade war and the impact of African swine fever are taking their toll on Bunge’s agribusiness earnings. Photo: KuLouKu/iStock/Getty Images

Bunge shares slide as China trade war, pig disease upset exports

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters – Agricultural merchant Bunge Ltd warned on Wednesday of a drop in annual profits due to mounting challenges to its grain trading and processing business from the U.S.-China trade war and a fatal pig disease in Asia, sending shares down more than 4 percent. The company reported better-than-expected third-quarter profits, driven by higher margins […] Read more

Bean burgers made with canola protein powder at Burcon's alternative meats protein lab in Winnipeg on Aug. 23, 2019.

Big Ag wants a cut of booming fake-meat market

Reading Time: 4 minutes Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — Bunge, one the world’s biggest grain traders, recently disclosed the 1.6 per cent stake it had purchased in the fast-growing fake-meat startup Beyond Meat. The play looked smart after the stock surged more than 250 per cent since the faux burger and sausage maker’s initial public offering in May. Indeed, Beyond […] Read more



Analysts predict Bunge may be shielded from a more severe trade war impact between the U.S. and China by virtue of its large operations in South America.  Photo: iStock/Getty Images

Bunge posts profit on South America, gain from Beyond Meat investment

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – Agricultural commodities trader Bunge Ltd swung to a profit in the second quarter from a year-ago loss, helped by improved results at its South American operations. Bunge also reported an unrealized gain from the company’s stake in Beyond Meat Inc, meaning it could profit from the plant-based burger venture if it sells its nearly […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Major grain traders face one-two punch from U.S. floods, trade war

Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Severe U.S. weather likely dented earnings for large grain companies including Archer Daniels Midland and Bunge for a second straight quarter, adding to headwinds from a still-unresolved U.S.-China trade war, analysts and economists said. ADM and Bunge, as well as peers Cargill and Louis Dreyfus, known as the ABCD quartet of […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Bunge moves from regional to global operating model

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. agricultural commodities trader Bunge on Wednesday overhauled its global operations and named a new chief financial officer in the latest shake-up for the 200-year-old company hard hit by a years-long grain market downturn. The moves come as Bunge reported a stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit due to higher soy crush margins in […] Read more

A Bunge port facility in Vietnam. (Bunge.com)

Bunge names acting chief as new CEO

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Global grains trader Bunge on Thursday named Gregory Heckman as its chief executive officer, three months after he took the helm in an interim capacity. Heckman, a founding partner of private investment firm Flatwater Partners and the former chief executive of grains trader Gavilon Group, was appointed acting CEO in January after long-serving […] Read more