U.S. upholds ethanol mandate

Reuters – The United States upheld its program to turn a large share of the corn crop into ethanol for motor fuel Nov. 16, saying it did not cause undue economic harm despite steep competition for depleted U.S. grain supplies after the worst drought in 50 years. In August, as the drought seared the Midwest,

Novozymes and Syngenta team up on product registration

Biological manufacturer Novozymes and chemical/seed giant Syngenta, have announced a global marketing and distribution agreement for Novozymes’s microbial-based biofungicide Taegro, a microbial-based fungicide based on the naturally occurring Bacillus subtilis bacterium. Novozymes says Taegro targets fungal diseases such as rhizoctonia and fusarium on fruit and vegetables, and its application is expected to be expanded to


Ag secretary says U.S. isn’t “going to run out of corn”

washington / reuters U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says tight corn stocks aren’t a cause for concern. “We really have to wait until the kernels are counted and the (soy) beans are counted to know the impact of the drought,” said Vilsack. “I don’t think the United States of America is going to run out

Japan corn users urge U.S. to limit ethanol

Six key groups of corn users in Japan, the world’s biggest user of the grain, have urged the United States, the world’s biggest supplier, to cut back on using corn to make ethanol, so as to ease a supply shortage due to the worst drought in 56 years. In the first request of its kind,


More states join call for end to U.S. ethanol rule

Two U.S. states that depend on the livestock industry are adding their voices to a string of states asking Washington to ease pressure on corn prices by suspending rules that send a large share of the crop to produce ethanol. Georgia, the centre of U.S. poultry production, and New Mexico, with its large cattle industry,

Multiple predicaments: One core solution

The livestock industry and others that use corn as key input are calling on Congress and the administration to modify or suspend the ethanol mandate for the 2012 corn crop. Pressure for modifying the mandate is also coming from a hunger community that is fearful that a further rise in corn prices will trigger an


Ethanol output to drop 10 per cent

U.S. ethanol production will fall by 10 per cent in the coming year as rising prices from the drought cut exports in half, a University of Missouri think-tank forecast on Aug. 28. The Obama administration is weighing whether to relax a requirement to use corn-based ethanol in gasoline as meat and dairy farmers complain that

World powers weigh emergency meeting on food prices

Leaders want to avoid grain export embargoes that factored 
into global shortages and political instability in 2008.

Leading members of the Group of 20 nations are prepared to trigger an emergency meeting to tackle soaring grain prices caused by the worst U.S. drought in half a century and poor crops from the Black Sea bread basket. France, the United States and G20 president Mexico will hold a conference call at the end



China to end anti-dumping probe on U.S. distillers grains

beijing / reuters / China is ending an anti-dumping probe on imports of U.S. distillers dried grains, opening the gates for more purchases of the feed ingredient. China’s Commerce ministry launched the probe 1-1/2 years ago at the request of four Chinese ethanol makers. The companies withdrew the request recently, the government said. China’s imports