Farm workers, children and other people working or living near farm fields would have more protection from hazardous pesticides under changes proposed on Feb. 20 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Today marks an important milestone for the farm workers who plant, tend and harvest the food that we put on our tables each day,”
U.S. proposes new safety rules for farm pesticide use
The U.S. EPA wants to better protect approximately two million farm workers from exposure to pesticides
Ag crowdfunding platform launches first deal
Reuters — Crowdfunding has found the farm. AgFunder, an online platform for agriculture-related companies to seek capital through a form of crowd-sourced fundraising, said Wednesday it was launching its first campaign by focusing on a California agricultural data company. Through the online platform, Fresno, California-based OnFarm is looking to raise $400,000 in capital to grow
GMO critics protest at Monsanto annual meeting
Reuters — Critics of genetically modified crops (GMOs) protested at Monsanto’s annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday, calling for the world’s largest seed company to provide a report on contamination in non-GMO crops and to stop fighting mandatory labels on foods containing GMO ingredients. The requests came in the form of two shareholder resolutions that were
Biotech wheat moves closer to market, Monsanto says
Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, said Wednesday it was making good progress on the development of a herbicide-tolerant wheat, pushing what would be the world’s first biotech wheat a step closer to market. Monsanto, a leading developer of biotech corn, soybeans and other crops, has long tried to bring to market a genetically-altered wheat
Dow’s Enlist corn, soybeans move closer to USDA approval
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday it was leaning toward approval of Dow AgroSciences’ genetically altered Enlist corn and soybeans — a move which would free up the traits for release in Canada, where they’ve been approved since 2012. U.S. approvals have been delayed in the wake of heavy criticism of the products by
Three Chinese men charged with stealing U.S. seed technology
Three Chinese nationals have been charged in two separate cases of trying to steal seed technology, trade secrets under development in the United States, authorities said on Thursday. After a two-year investigation, a man working for a Chinese conglomerate was arrested on charges of stealing inbred corn seed from production fields in Iowa and Illinois
Monsanto deal with Novozymes aims to accelerate new crop products
Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, said Tuesday a deal with Danish company Novozymes to form a long-term research and development alliance should accelerate the release of microbial-based products designed to improve crop production. The news helped to slightly lift shares in St. Louis-based Monsanto, and analysts said while the biological work is not likely
After Washington GMO label battle, both sides eye national fight
Both sides of the costly and high-stakes GMO labelling battle in Washington state say they see an even bigger national fight ahead despite the apparent defeat of the mandatory labelling measure by Washington state voters this week. The measure died 47.05 per cent to 52.95 per cent, according to results updated Nov. 7 night by
After Washington GMO vote, both sides eye national fight
Both sides of the costly and high-stakes GMO labeling battle in Washington state say they see an even bigger national fight ahead despite the apparent defeat of the mandatory labeling measure by Washington state voters this week. The measure died 47.05 per cent to 52.95 per cent, according to results updated Thursday night by the
Food giants pour millions into defeating Washington GMO label measure
Major U.S. food and chemical companies are pouring millions of dollars into efforts to block approval of a ballot initiative in Washington state that would make it the first in the United States to require labelling of foods containing genetically modified crops. Despite early strong support for the measure, a recent poll suggests sentiment against
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
