Monsanto settles U.S. farmers’ suits over experimental wheat

Reuters — Monsanto Co. said Wednesday it reached a settlement with U.S. wheat farmers who sued the seed company over market disruption after unapproved genetically engineered wheat was discovered growing without oversight in Oregon. Monsanto’s Roundup Ready wheat, which was never approved by U.S. regulators and which the company said it stopped testing a decade […] Read more



Australian farmers hold back wheat sales as dryness curbs yields

Reuters — Australian farmers are holding back wheat crop sales as dryness in parts of the country’s eastern grain belt cuts yields, raising the likelihood for a boost to global prices that have dropped 13 per cent this year. Farmers in the world’s fourth biggest wheat exporter have sold only about a quarter of this […] Read more


(Westeel.com)

Ag Growth to buy bin maker Westeel for $221.5M

Grain bin manufacturer Westeel is on deck to become part of Prairie grain handling equipment company Ag Growth International’s bin of manufacturers. Winnipeg-based AGI announced Tuesday it’s signed an acquisition deal with Westeel’s owner Vicwest Inc. and Irish building materials manufacturer Kingspan Group. Kingspan said Tuesday it will buy Winnipeg-based Vicwest for $12.70 cash per share, […] Read more




(Canada Beef Inc. photo)

U.S. livestock: Beef quotes boost CME live cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed higher on Wednesday following a snapback in wholesale beef prices, traders said. December closed up 0.5 cent per pound at 167.75 cents, and February 1.175 cents higher at 169.575 cents (all figures US$). The morning’s choice wholesale beef price rose $1.70 per hundredweight (cwt) […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Man. cattle producers get AgriRecovery feed assistance

Eligible livestock producers in parts of Manitoba excessively soaked during the growing season will get federal/provincial backing to buy and haul feed and forage. The federal and provincial governments on Wednesday announced AgriRecovery funding for what they call the 2014 Canada-Manitoba Forage Shortfall and Transportation Assistance Initiative. The program will offer support worth up to […] Read more

Variable rate technology firm Farmers Edge, whose services include lab analysis of soil, seed and plant tissue, has picked up venture capital funding for expansion. (FarmersEdge.ca)

Minogue: Precision farming seeks new converts at new price point

Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield + Byers is investing in ag technology with a new stake in Farmers Edge — which in turn now hopes to build its services’ popularity through more attractive pricing. Winnipeg-based Farmers Edge is one of a number of companies hoping to profit from new technology by packaging data solutions […] Read more