(CropScience.Bayer.ca)

Ag chem division not for sale, Bayer says

Frankfurt | Reuters — German drugs and pesticide maker Bayer on Wednesday reaffirmed it would hold on to its crop chemicals business as talk of consolidation in the industry continued. Asked for a comment on remarks by Monsanto executives that the U.S. seeds giant was in internal discussions about tie-ups in the industry, a Bayer […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Syngenta still among options for Monsanto takeover bids

St. Louis | Reuters — Monsanto executives are discussing whether the world’s largest seed company should acquire agrochemical rivals, including top pesticide maker Syngenta, Monsanto president Brett Begemann said Tuesday. “Everybody’s talking now. There’s multiple ways things can occur,” he said. Monsanto abandoned a $45 billion bid for Syngenta in August (all figures US$). Begemann […] Read more


(Syngenta.com)

Syngenta reported rejecting ChemChina takeover offer

Reuters — Syngenta has rejected ChemChina’s offer to buy the Swiss agricultural chemicals group, citing regulatory concerns, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. China National Chemical Corp., better known as ChemChina, offered about 449 Swiss francs (C$597) per share for Syngenta, valuing the Basel, Switzerland-based company at about 41.7 billion Swiss francs (C$55.4 billion), according to the […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

EU scientists say glyphosate unlikely to cause cancer

Brussels | Reuters — Glyphosate is unlikely to cause cancer in humans, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which nevertheless proposed limits on Thursday on the amount of residue of the herbicide widely used by farmers deemed safe to consume. The EFSA advises EU policymakers and its conclusion could lead the 28-member European […] Read more


A John Deere air cart seeding system in the field.  Photo: John Deere

Deere & Co. to buy Monsanto’s Precision Planting farm equipment business

Chicago/Reuters – Monsanto Co’s Climate Corp subsidiary on Tuesday announced a definitive agreement to sell its Precision Planting farm equipment business to Deere & Co for an undisclosed sum. The deal also allows nearly real-time data connections between certain John Deere farm equipment and Climate’s farming software programs, Climate FieldView. Climate will keep its digital farming […] Read more

soy beans

Xtend soybeans nearing market release

Growers can order these now, and keep their discounts if Monsanto’s plans fall through

Monsanto’s Roundup Ready 2 Xtend Soybeans will be available to order in Canada this fall, though approval for the dicamba and glyphosate tolerance trait is still pending from the European Union and China. The product will be released in the United States and Canada only after full approval is achieved from key soybean importing nations. […] Read more


(MonsantoStore.corpmerchandise.com)

Monsanto to shut three R+D centres next year

Chicago | Reuters –– Agrichemical company Monsanto plans to shutter three research and development centers in 2016 with a loss of about 90 jobs, it said Monday, as it restructures operations to cut costs in a slumping agricultural commodity market. The centers are in Middleton, Wisconsin, and Mystic, Connecticut, both of which focus on seed […] Read more

(Monsanto.com)

Monsanto clears USDA regulatory hurdle for new GM corn

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday signed off on a new genetically modified type of corn developed by Monsanto after a review concluded it posed no significant threat to agricultural crops, other plants or the environment. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced it would deregulate Monsanto’s MON […] Read more


Like the soybeans in this photo, most of the new varieties hitting the market for 2015 have the RR2 gene.

New soybean varieties for 2016

There will be nine new Roundup Ready soybean varieties on the market next spring

All but one of the nine new soybean varieties hitting the market for the first time in 2016 have one thing in common: their genes. Eight of the new varieties use the Roundup Ready 2 gene. Brett Young Notus R2 Notus R2 is a new early-maturing soybean from Elite. At 2300 CHU it fits well […] Read more

(Dow.com)

Dow reviews options for farm chemical/seeds unit

Reuters — Dow Chemical said it would “review all options” for its farm chemicals and seeds unit, which has reported falling sales for nearly a year, and suggested that it might buy Corning’s stake in a silicon joint venture. Dow is also selling its stake in a Kuwaiti JV that produces a chemical used in […] Read more