The use of cover crops such as radish has spread rapidly in Ontario in the past five years. Ontario’s environmental commissioner wants to see that continue. (John Greig photo)

OMAFRA seen needing a soil health ‘tuneup’

Ontario’s environmental commissioner is calling on the provincial ag ministry to rebuild its soil health expertise and find ways to encourage farmers to adopt soil-friendly production practices, to deal with what she calls a “catastrophic” loss in soil organic matter levels. The report recommends better soil carbon level monitoring and 10-year programs to financially encourage […] Read more




A preserved portion of the Berlin Wall in Berlin, Germany. (CIA.gov)

German cabinet approves draft law banning GM crops

Berlin | Reuters — The German cabinet has approved a draft law banning cultivation of crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), government sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Germany had announced in September 2015 that it will ban cultivation of crops with GMOs under new European Union rules allowing member states to opt out of their […] Read more



Kongskilde’s Vibro Till 2900 SF and other tillage equipment lines are set to become part of New Holland. (Kongskilde.com)

New Holland buying into tillage equipment market

U.S. ag equipment giant New Holland is set to enter the tillage equipment business and stretch out its space in the hay and forage market, with a deal for Danish manufacturer Kongskilde Industries. New Holland’s parent CNH Industrial on Monday announced it will buy Kongskilde’s agricultural “grass and soil” business from Dansk Landbrugs Grovvareselskab (DLG […] Read more



(John Deere photo)

Precision ag tech’s link to broadband under study

Crop growers in southwestern Ontario are being asked how their access to high-speed internet, or lack thereof, has helped or hindered their adoption of precision ag tools. Researchers at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), as part of the Regional and Rural Broadband (R2B2) project, are studying how “current and future connectivity” influences […] Read more


(Syngenta.com)

EU probe to hold up ChemChina’s acquisition of Syngenta

Brussels | Reuters — European Union antitrust regulators on Friday opened an in-depth investigation into state-owned Chinese chemicals group ChemChina’s US$43 billion bid for Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta, China’s biggest-ever foreign acquisition. Syngenta’s shares plunged over nine per cent on Monday after the European Commission said the companies had not allayed its concerns […] Read more

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

ChemChina reported ready for concessions to clinch Syngenta deal

Beijing/Zurich | Reuters — State-owned Chinese chemicals group ChemChina is ready to offer more concessions to win European Union antitrust approval for its US$43 billion bid for Swiss pesticide and seed group Syngenta, a source with direct knowledge of the process said. Clinching China’s biggest-ever foreign acquisition is taking longer than planned amid a flurry […] Read more