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France revamps pesticide reduction plan in wake of farmer unrest

Reading Time: < 1 minute Paris | Reuters – France unveiled on Monday a revised plan to halve pesticide use in the European Union’s biggest agricultural producer, pledging to adopt an EU indicator and boost research into alternatives in a nod to grievances voiced in farmer protests this year. Why it’s important Environmental regulation was one of the main factors […] Read more

A logo is seen at the headquarters of agricultural chemical maker Syngenta in Basel, Switzerland January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

Beijing nudged Syngenta to withdraw $9 billion Shanghai IPO on market weakness, sources say

China's securities watchdog's tighter scrutiny of IPOs has led some companies to scrap plans, move offshore

Reading Time: 3 minutes Chinese authorities nudged Swiss agrichemicals and seeds group Syngenta to withdraw its application for a long-delayed $9 billion IPO in Shanghai on concerns about the impact a sizeable new offering would have on a volatile market, four people said.


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Pesticides under fire in U.S.

Recent court decisions have threatened farmers' abilities to use some herbicides

Reading Time: 3 minutes Pesticides are increasingly under attack in the United States and that is keeping farm leaders awake at night.

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Ag chem maker FMC looks to sell non-core assets

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Crop protection products maker FMC Corp. has launched a strategic review of its non-core assets, including a potential sale of its non-crop business. A slowdown in demand for herbicide and pesticides as well as excess inventories had resulted in large destocking in South America, denting the U.S.-based company’s earnings for much of the […] Read more


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Ag input firm FMC’s shares tumble after lowering financial targets

Partners 'rapidly reduced inventory levels'

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Shares of FMC Corp. fell more than eight per cent on Monday after the agricultural products supplier cut its outlook for the year on volume declines in most of its major markets. “Towards the end of May, we experienced unforeseen and unprecedented volume declines in three out of our four operating regions, as […] Read more

Pea leaf weevil. (Alberta Agriculture photo)

Insects posing problems in Saskatchewan crops

Grasshopper, flea beetle damage already reported

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm – Although it’s still early in the growing season, some insect pests have already posed a threat to crops in Saskatchewan or could do so in the near future, according to James Tansey, provincial specialist for insects/invertebrate pest management. Among the pests he cited were grasshoppers, flea beetles and pea leaf weevils.  Tansey said […] Read more


File photo of grain silos and other buildings at harbourside at Saint Nazaire on France’s west coast. (Sissoupitch/iStock/Getty Images)

French agency drops fumigant ban on non-EU grain exports

Limit on phosphine won't apply if use required for export

Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — French health safety agency ANSES on Thursday cleared the use of phosphine pesticide in contact with grains exported outside the European Union when importing countries require the process, averting a halt to shipments from the EU’s top grain exporter. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine tablets used for […] Read more

File photo of grain silos and other buildings at harbourside at Saint Nazaire on France’s west coast. (Sissoupitch/iStock/Getty Images)

France says pesticide ban will not hit grain exports

Fumigant can't be in 'direct contact' with grains

Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — France will ensure that a decision by health and safety agency ANSES to ban the use of a pesticide in direct contact with grains does not hamper its exports outside the European Union, its trade and agriculture ministers told Parliament on Tuesday. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine […] Read more


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‘Keep it Clean’ program aims for more than just good advice

Program seen as 'one stop shop' for ensuring marketability of grains

Reading Time: 3 minutes As farmers plan for the upcoming season, they need to do their part to make certain their grain will be ready for market, come harvest time. “Market access issues in general are becoming a bigger issue globally,” said Ian Epp, an agronomy specialist and lead on market access and pesticides with the Canola Council of […] Read more

A farm worker unloads Ukrainian-made fertilizer from a truck on April 5, 2022 to use on a wheat field near the village of Yakovlivka, outside Kharkiv, after it was hit by an aerial bombardment. (Photo: Reuters/Thomas Peter)

Ukraine faces lack of herbicides, pesticides for spring seeding

About a third of needed chemicals reported to be at hand

Reading Time: < 1 minute Kyiv | Reuters — Ukrainian farmers, which have already started the 2023 spring sowing, have only around 35 per cent of the herbicides and pesticides they need, analyst APK-Inform quoted on Monday official data as showed. The Russian invasion has left Ukraine seriously short of finances, seeds and crop protection products, which could have a […] Read more