Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — France is to use a new European opt-out scheme to ensure a ban on the cultivation of genetically modified crops in the country remains in place, it said on Thursday. The European Union’s largest grain grower and exporter has asked the European Commission for France to be excluded from some GM […] Read more
France bolsters ban on genetically modified crops
Your next corn hybrids
Corn is still king in Eastern Canada, and these new hybrids should help guarantee a long reign
Reading Time: 9 minutes Despite the fact that soybeans actually get planted on more acres, corn is still the driver of row-crop production in the East. At 3.3 million acres in 2015, it’s true that Canada’s farmers planted less corn than the 3.6 million acres they put in the ground in 2013, but it would be a mistake to […] Read more
French court upholds Monsanto poisoning ruling
Reading Time: 2 minutes Lyon/Paris|Reuters — A French court upheld on Thursday a 2012 ruling in which Monsanto was found liable in the chemical poisoning of a French farmer, who says he suffered neurological problems after inhaling the U.S. company’s Lasso herbicide. The decision by an appeal court in Lyon confirmed the initial judgment, the first such case heard in court […] Read more
Monsanto, rivals eye next step after Syngenta deal collapse
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Monsanto, having ditched an audacious US$46 billion offer for Syngenta, may downshift to a humbler strategy of beefing up its crop protection portfolio through other acquisitions, partnerships and licensing agreements. The deal’s collapse leaves Monsanto, Syngenta and other agrochemical sector companies facing a bleak landscape of plummeting grain prices and farm […] Read more
Monsanto no longer pursuing Syngenta
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — U.S. agribusiness leader Monsanto on Wednesday abandoned pursuit of Swiss rival Syngenta, which had rejected a recently sweetened US$47 billion offer. Syngenta shares fell more than 18 per cent on the news, while Monsanto shares jumped more than seven per cent. The Swiss agrichemicals group said its board unanimously rejected the offer, which it […] Read more
Monsanto sweetens offer for Syngenta
Reading Time: 3 minutes New York/Chicago | Reuters — U.S.-based Monsanto sweetened its offer to buy Switzerland’s Syngenta, valuing the company at around US$47 billion as it tries to lure the Swiss firm to the negotiating table, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. Monsanto, which wants to combine its world-leading seeds business with Syngenta’s own seeds […] Read more
Scientists seek review of glyphosate, allege ‘flawed’ regulations
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — U.S. regulators have relied on flawed and outdated research to allow expanded use of an herbicide linked to cancer, and new assessments should be urgently conducted, according to a column published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday. There are two key factors that necessitate regulatory action to protect human health, […] Read more
U.S. farm, consumer groups aim to block Monsanto bid for Syngenta
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Several U.S. farm and consumer groups are working on strategies to derail a proposed tie-up of Monsanto and agricultural seeds and chemicals rival Syngenta, saying a combination of the market leaders would spell fewer and higher-priced products. Coalitions of opponents are being formed and market analyses being done, moves that underscore the hurdles […] Read more
Syngenta says Monsanto’s $2 bln break-up fee comes with caveat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Frankfurt/Reuters – Syngenta has said a $2 billion break-up fee that unwanted U.S. suitor Monsanto has pledged to pay if its proposed $45 billion merger failed would only apply in limited cases, leaving its shareholders exposed to the bulk of regulatory risks. Swiss Syngenta, the world’s largest maker of farming pesticides, told Reuters that based […] Read more
In bid for Syngenta, Monsanto woos U.S. farmer support
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — As Monsanto struggles to convince rival Syngenta to discuss a potential merger, the seed and agrochemical giant is also wooing U.S. farmers, aiming to ease concerns about the proposed tie-up that could prompt regulatory challenges. Company executives have been criss-crossing the U.S. heartland, meeting with soybean and corn growers and a range of […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
