RR Soybeans Off Patent But Still Restricted

The one company committed to selling off-patent Roundup Ready 1 soybeans in 2012 says it will use contracts to ensure farmers don’t save and reuse the seed. But Pioneer Hi-Bred will continue to make the seed available for one-time use only once it comes off patent in August, 2011 at least until 2014, a company

GM Crop Patents Near End, U.S. Farmers Ask What Next?

The biotechnology industry should develop a format to handle the looming expiration of patents on the first wave of genetically modified (GM) crops, to avoid seed shortages or trade disruptions, the largest U.S. farm group said. “There just needs to be a way to deal with it,” Rosemarie Watkins of the six-million-member American Farm Bureau


Vilsack Seeks Biotech Compromise

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the largest U.S. farm group on Jan. 10 that farmers could see less government interference if they find a way for traditional and genetically modified crops to coexist. Farm groups and the biotechnology industry are skeptical of Vilsack’s “coexistence” proposal. He launched it last month at the same time the

Roundup Ready Soybeans Going Off Patent

Monsanto’s Canadian patent on its current generation of Roundup Ready soybeans expires soon, but whether farmers get their hands on any so they can save their own seed, is an open question. Monsanto Canada spokeswoman Trish Jordan says Monsanto’s seed company DeKalb is switching to the new, patented Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans, which


Monsanto Sees Gains In Corn, Soy, Wheat Projects

Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, said on Jan. 6 that a lineup of new biotech seed products has the company well positioned for future growth. St. Louis-based Monsanto said it has 19 projects advancing through its research and development pipeline, including nine added in the last two years. Notable advancements are being made in

DuPont Says New Corn Seed Yields Better In Droughts

DuPont said on Jan. 5 it was launching a new corn seed that would yield better in “water-limited” environments, as growers around the world seek ways to maximize production during droughts. DuPont, which owns Pioneer Hi-Bred, one of the world’s largest agricultural seed companies, is introducing a limited quantity of the corn hybrids for planting


South Africa Balks At Seed Company Consolidation

The derailment of DuPont’s intended acquisition of a top South African seed company – a deal that would have doubled DuPont’s African seed business – is emboldening activists opposed to creeping control by both DuPont and rival Monsanto of the lucrative emerging market. Citing unfair control in South Africa by the two dominant U.S. seed

A New Seed Selection App

Monsanto Canada is launching a new mobile app under its Genuity brand in time for the 2011 seed selection season. The Genuity Seed Selector App features information on Genuity brand canola, corn and soybean products available through seed partner companies including Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans, Genuity Roundup Ready canola and Genuity SmartStax(TM) corn,


Monsanto Sees “Right Time” For GMO Wheat Varieties

Monsanto Co. could start field testing genetically modified wheat within one to two years, but remains cautious about future commercialization, according to one of the company’s top wheat technology executives. Six years after shelving a biotech wheat product in the face of stiff market resistance, Monsanto still sees a need for circumspection, but believes building

Canada Might Be Spared Increased Drought

Some of the world’s most populous areas – southern Europe, northern Africa, the western U. S. and much of Latin America – could face severe, even unprecedented drought by 2100, researchers said Oct. 19. Increasing drought has long been forecast as a consequence of climate change, but a new study from the U. S. National