(DuPont.com, Dow.com)

DowDuPont upbeat on growth as sales rise

Reuters — U.S. chemicals producer DowDuPont reported a 14 per cent rise in net sales for the fourth quarter and beat Wall Street profit estimates as a strong global economy led to robust demand and higher prices for its products. The newly-combined company, formed by the merger of chemical giants Dow Chemical and DuPont four

A line of Starpharma’s dendrimer polymers, much like its VivaGel water-based gel, shown here, will be put to work carrying crop chemicals and fertilizers in the field for Agrium’s Loveland Products. (Starpharma.com)

Agrium buys polymer maker’s ag chem applications

Fertilizer and ag retail firm Agrium has closed a deal for an Australian polymer maker’s ag chemical business, aiming to put it to work in fertilizer and pesticide application. Calgary-based Agrium said Tuesday it has bought Starpharma Holdings’ agrochemical business for A$35 million (C$35.3 million) via Agrium’s U.S. crop input arm, Loveland Products. The deal


Sacramento-based Origin Materials in March started working with bottled-water firms Nestle Waters and Danone on development of plastic bottles made from biomass feedstocks. (Nestle-WatersNA.com)

Bioprocessor coming to Sarnia

Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC) has invested in California bio-based products company Origin Materials. Origin Materials will be building its first commercial-scale demonstration facility in Sarnia, Ont. by late next year. It will be using bio-based feedstocks such as crops and biomass to make new polymers, surfactants and carbon blacks, which are used as fillers and

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

ChemChina clinches takeover of Syngenta

Zurich | Reuters –– ChemChina has won more than enough support from Syngenta shareholders to clinch its US$43 billion takeover of the Swiss pesticides and seeds group, the two companies said Friday. The deal, announced in February 2016, was prompted by China’s desire to use Syngenta’s portfolio of top-tier chemicals and patent-protected seeds to improve


A bee busily pollinates a canola flower.

Chemical companies pitch bug-killing options

Some environmentalists say just switching to new products won’t solve the underlying problem

Companies that make bug-killing chemicals and natural remedies are racing to take advantage of restrictions on neonics, blamed for harming bees and mayflies. Global sales of neonicotinoids, or neonics, were US$3.01 billion last year, accounting for almost 18 per cent of the global insecticides market, according to consultancy Phillips McDougall. Insecticide sales fell sharply year

Somerset-area organic farmer Jeremiah Evans is impressed with the weed control he’s getting with a new U.K.-made in-row cultivator.

Precision tillage offers new option for organic weed control

Frustrated with lack of weed control, organic farmer Jeremiah Evans has 
tried a U.K.-made in-row cultivator and he’s impressed with the results

Jeremiah Evans has a new high-tech hand helping him control weeds on his organic farm. Last fall the Somerset-area farmer took delivery of a custom-built U.K.-manufactured Garford Robocrop in-row cultivator, which uses special software to identify and target weeds, leaving the crop behind. After seeing what it could do to his wild oats, thistle and


chickens in a barn

Mozart and mood lighting, a healthy prescription for chickens?

Combined with probiotics, it all adds up to a reduced need for drugs

In barns filled with classical music and lighting that changes to match the hues outside, rows of chickens are fed a diet rich in probiotics, a regimen designed to remove the need for the drugs and chemicals that have tainted the global food chain. As food giants face growing pressure to offer healthier produce, Southeast

highway road

Province says highway ditches not part of weed control ban

The AMM wants some areas to be exempt from new restrictions on cosmetic pesticides

The Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) is concerned a newly enacted ban on cosmetic pesticides will increase municipal weed control costs tenfold. “We are very concerned about this… the regulation is unreasonable,” said association president Doug Dobrowolski. Describing the regulations that came into effect on May 1 as “contradictory,” Dobrowolski said that he would like



bees

Neonics are in the picture, but they’re not the whole picture

The varroa mite is still the top concern for beekeepers, in the eyes of one expert, 
but other factors can’t be ignored either

It’s a question many both inside and outside of agriculture are asking — why are so many honeybees dying? While some culprits have been fingered, experts say it’s not a problem that can be solved with a silver bullet. “It’s very tempting to come up with easy answers, and if anything is clear, it’s that