Matthew Johnson of M3 Aerial Productions with the UAVs his company uses to capture images to determine hay crop quality.

Drone image reveals best cutting day

Infrared aerial photo technology senses when alfalfa quality is prime

The Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) and M3 Aerial Productions are teaming up to investigate whether unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) ­— also known as drones — can be used to enhance the MFGA’s Green Gold Program, which provides producers with the best first-cut date for alfalfa crops. The MFGA offers the Green Gold program, which […] Read more



DuPont’s headquarters in Delaware. (DuPont.com)

EU regulators halt Dow, DuPont merger review to gather data

Brussels | Reuters — European Union antitrust regulators have halted their scrutiny of Dow Chemical and DuPont’s proposed merger while the companies provide more information regarding their US$130 billion deal. The European Commission opened a full investigation into the case in August, concerned that the deal to create the world’s largest integrated crop protection and […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Farmers’ debt seen hitting fresh record high

Reuters — Canadian farmers’ debt will likely reach another record high this year, while land appreciation slows and incomes flatten, but the industry is still in strong financial shape, the country’s biggest agriculture lender, Farm Credit Canada, forecast on Tuesday. FCC, the federal Crown ag lending agency, sounded a note of caution for farmers, who […] Read more



Syngenta’s Interaction Centre at Stein, Switzerland. (Syngenta.com)

ChemChina extends tender offers for Syngenta

Zurich | Reuters — ChemChina on Tuesday extended by almost two months the deadline for Syngenta investors to tender their shares as the Chinese company seeks to complete a US$43 billion takeover of the Swiss pesticides and seeds group. Investors in Basel-based Syngenta now have until Nov. 8 to tender their shares unless this is […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Agrium)

Fertilizer merger faces easier approval at home than in U.S.

Toronto/Washington | Reuters — Canada’s PotashCorp and Agrium are more likely to win approval for a potential merger in Canada than in the U.S., but U.S. rejection of the deal would scuttle it globally, competition lawyers said. Saskatoon-based PotashCorp and Calgary’s Agrium confirmed Tuesday they were in preliminary merger talks, toward a deal that would […] Read more


LaserAg offers these small cups for soil collection. Sample takers can use LaserAg’s software to determine where to sample. Scanning the bar code on the top of the cup with a smartphone after the sample is taken will automatically record information about the sample, including the exact location. Filled cups can be submitted by mail, and results will be returned electronically within two weeks.

New soil test company on the block

New technology is bringing another way to test the soil on your farm

Jacques Nault’s brother Charles Nault first heard about Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technology at a pharmaceutical conference. “It was presented as a tool to do quality control, to make sure pills contained the right molecules,” Jacques Nault says. As co-founders of LogiAg, an agronomy service and technology firm based in Chateauguay, Quebec, the Nault brothers began imagining how LIBS […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

PotashCorp, Agrium merger would send farmers to regulators

Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — North American farmers will pressure regulators to protect their negotiating leverage with fertilizer suppliers if PotashCorp and Agrium agree to merge, major farm groups said on Wednesday. The potential deal revealed on Tuesday would combine the world’s largest fertilizer producer by capacity, with the continent’s biggest network of farm retail dealers, […] Read more