Chicago | Reuters — Monsanto is in talks with Bayer and other companies regarding “alternative strategic options,” a month after it rejected the German company’s US$62 billion takeover offer, the U.S. seed producer said on Wednesday. Monsanto’s options include combinations with other companies and businesses in the sector beyond Bayer. Potential deals could involve BASF
Monsanto in talks with Bayer, others about ‘strategic options’
U.S. grain firms rejecting GMO crops that lack global approval
Reuters — Across the U.S. Farm Belt, top grain handlers have banned genetically modified crops that are not approved in all major overseas markets, shaking up a decades-old system that used the world’s biggest exporting country as a launchpad for new seeds from companies such as Monsanto. Bold yellow signs from global trader Bunge are
Global GMO area dips in 2015 in first-ever decline
Reuters — The world scaled back biotech crop planting for the first time ever in 2015, led by a decline in the U.S., which has fuelled rapid expansion of genetically modified crops since their commercial launch two decades ago, according to an annual report released Wednesday. The decline was blamed largely on lower crop plantings
Cargill books higher profits, warns of tough markets
Reuters — U.S. agricultural commodities trader Cargill on Thursday reported a rise in third-quarter profit on stronger results in food ingredients and grain handling, but warned about headwinds from oversupplied grain markets and low commodity prices. The privately-held company is exiting lower-margin operations, including its U.S. pork business, and expanding deeper into food ingredients and
Monsanto cools on large-scale M+A outlook
Chicago | Reuters –– Monsanto on Wednesday effectively pulled itself out of the mergers-and-acquisitions flurry in the seeds and agrochemicals industry, nearly a year after making a bid for rival Syngenta. The St. Louis-based company, which also reported a drop in second-quarter earnings, now sees its best dealmaking opportunities in smaller acquisitions, licensing deals and
U.S. grains: Corn tumbles four per cent on acreage forecast shock
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures plunged more than four per cent on Thursday in the market’s steepest drop since mid-August after the U.S. Agriculture Department forecast 2016 planted acreage well above trade expectations. Soybeans firmed on USDA’s lower-than-expected soybean acreage and quarterly stocks estimates, although gains were limited by spillover pressure from corn.
U.S. grains: Wheat drops from two-week high
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures tumbled more than two per cent on Wednesday, erasing two sessions of gains, as forecasts for rain in some dry areas of the southern Plains eased concerns about reduced yields. Corn and soybeans also declined as traders adjusted positions ahead of the U.S. Agriculture Department’s planting intentions and
U.S. grains: Wheat jumps as Plains dryness sparks short-covering
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures jumped nearly two per cent on Monday on technical buying and short-covering amid concerns about adverse weather in parts of the winter wheat belt that could damage developing crops. Corn firmed slightly as spillover support from rallying wheat offset concerns about abundant global feed grain stocks and a
U.S. Senate blocks bill that would override state GMO labeling laws
Reuters — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked a bill that would nullify state and local efforts to require food makers to label products made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as the industry races to stop Vermont’s law from taking effect on July 1. The proposed legislation from Republican Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas comes
U.S. grains: Wheat jumps for seventh straight day
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures climbed for a seventh straight session on Thursday, the longest such streak in nearly two years, as a weaker U.S. dollar and concerns about adverse crop weather sparked fund short covering and other buying. Soybeans also rose for a seventh day while corn advanced for the sixth time