Chicago | Reuters — An Arkansas judge on Friday dismissed a Monsanto lawsuit aiming to stop Arkansas from blocking the use of a herbicide the company makes, dealing a blow to its attempts to increase sales of genetically engineered seeds. Monsanto, which is being acquired by Bayer, filed the lawsuit last year in a bid
Monsanto loses bid to stop Arkansas’ dicamba ban
Battle of the beans
Monsanto faces a tough fight for the soybean market
Monsanto is facing major threats to its historic dominance of seed and herbicide technology for the US$40-billion U.S. soybean market. Rivals BASF and DowDuPont are preparing to push their own varieties of genetically modified soybeans. At stake is control over seed supply for the next generation of farmers producing the most valuable U.S. agricultural export.
U.S. faces oversupply of antibiotic-free chicken
One of the top U.S. chicken producers says there’s more than eight times as much supply as demand
Supplies of chicken raised without antibiotics are outstripping demand, a major U.S. poultry producer said Jan. 16, a sign of overproduction that could eat into processors’ profits. Large chicken and restaurant companies, including Tyson Foods and McDonald’s, have raced to cut antibiotics from poultry supplies as public health experts have warned about the link between
U.S. grains: Hard red winter wheat jumps as traders watch weather
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures sagged on Friday, pulling back from a rally above $10 a bushel a day earlier, while hard red winter wheat futures climbed to their highest price in more than three months. Traders in both markets were eyeing unfavourably dry weather in important growing areas: Argentina for soybeans and
U.S. grains: Soybeans retreat from seven-week high
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures pulled back on Thursday after concerns about drought in rival exporter Argentina temporarily pushed prices above US$10 a bushel for the first time in seven weeks. The market finished unchanged, breaking a streak of eight sessions with consecutive advances. A ninth session would have marked the longest string
U.S. grains: Highest grain prices in weeks as U.S. dollar falls
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures rose to their highest prices in weeks on Wednesday on technical buying, a slide in the U.S. dollar and dry weather in rival exporter Argentina. The dollar’s decline to a three-year low prompted corn and wheat traders to buy back previously sold positions, brokers said, after
ADM approach to Bunge a potential U-turn on oilseed strategy
Chicago | Reuters –– Archer Daniels Midland’s proposed takeover of Bunge could signal a change in the company’s strategy on oilseeds, giving the top U.S. grain merchant a much bigger capacity to crush soy just months after ADM’s CEO said the firm would cut spending on the sector. The potential strategic change comes as the
Arkansas restricts dicamba for 2018
Chicago | Reuters — In a blow to manufacturers Monsanto and BASF, Arkansas state lawmakers voted on Friday to bar sprayings of a controversial weed killer after mid-April to protect farmers from potential crop damage. Arkansas will prohibit the use of herbicides based on dicamba from April 16 to Oct. 31, the strictest state limits
ADM reported making takeover approach to Bunge
Reuters — Top U.S. grains merchant Archer Daniels Midland has proposed a takeover of Bunge Ltd., the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, a move that could set up a battle for Bunge with London-based rival Glencore. Large grain traders which make money by buying, selling, storing, shipping and trading crops have struggled in recent
Rush on to reverse U.S. tax boon for ag co-ops
Chicago | Reuters — Republican U.S. senators are working with some of the world’s biggest agricultural merchants to undo a last-minute provision in the tax overhaul that threatens to distort the grains market and starve private firms of corn, soy and wheat supplies. It was included during final revisions of the tax bill that passed
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
