Manitoba Forage Seed Grower Joins Anti-Monsanto Legal Action

In the age of patent protection, there’s lots of precedent for corporate giants suing farmers – but few farmers willing to take on the corporations. Well, meet Paul Gregory. He is among 60 farmers, producer groups and seed companies suing Monsanto Co. by challenging its patents on genetically modified seed. Gregory, who owns Interlake Forage

Soybean Farmers Advised To Check Out New Varieties

Soybean growers worried about getting low-heat-unit varieties to plant in 2012 after the patent expires on Roundup Ready 1 soybeans should talk to their seed retailer. That’s the advice Keystone Agricultural Producers’ (KAP) vice-president Rob Brunel offered here April 14 during KAP’s General Council meeting. “I think it’s important that if you’re a soybean grower


Bayer And DuPont Sign Cross-Licence Deal

Seed giant Pioneer Hi-Bred will begin using LibertyLink herbicide-tolerance traits in its canola hybrids, in a deal which will see Bayer CropScience try its hand at juncea oilseeds. Germany’s Bayer and DuPontowned, U.S.-based Pioneer have announced a global licensing agreement in which Bayer will license its LibertyLink technology to Pioneer, while Bayer will get access

KAP Opposes Roundup Ready Alfalfa’s Release In Canada

The Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) has added its voice to groups opposed to the release of Roundup Ready alfalfa. “It’s a superweed,” Paul Gregory, a Fisher Branch farmer and alfalfa seed exporter said during debate on his resolution for KAP to support the Manitoba Forage Seed Association’s efforts to block Roundup Ready alfalfa’s release. “Once


Rumoured Monsanto Sale Denied

Germany’s BASF has no plans to buy global biotech seed company Monsanto Co., sources with knowledge of the situation said April 12. Rumours that a buyout was imminent sent Monsanto’s shares up as much as four per cent while shares of BASF, the world’s largest chemical maker, fell 2.8 per cent. The two companies are

Cancer Cause Or Crop Aid? Glyphosate Faces Big Test

Critics say it’s a chemical that could cause infertility or cancer, while others see it speeding the growth of super weeds and causing worrying changes to plants and soil. Backers say it is safe and has made a big contribution to food production. It’s glyphosate, the key – but controversial – ingredient in Roundup herbicide


Valtera Is A New Soybean Herbicide From Nufarm

Roundup Ready soybeans dominate the Mani toba market now, but Nufarm thinks there’s room for Valtera, a new pre-emergent soybean herbicide from U.S.-based Valent. Nufarm says it controls broadleaf weeds such as Eastern black nightshade, lamb’s quarters and pigweed – including Group 2 and triazine-resistant biotypes. Grant Deveson, Nufarm’s commercial manager in Canada, told a

CWB Repeats Its Conditions For Approving GM Wheat

A number of conditions must be met before the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) will support the introduction of genetically modified (GM) wheat in Canada. “We feel there needs to be rules put into place,” District 10 CWB director Bill Toews told farmers here last month. “Before any of that happens there has to be an


Volunteer Corn Reduces Yield In Corn And Soybean Crops

Ohio’s Purdue University Extension Service reports that volunteer corn is causing major yield reductions to both corn and soybean crops. With 70 per cent of Indiana’s annual corn crop resistant to glyphosate, volunteer corn has become increasingly difficult to control. “We’re rotating Roundup Ready corn with our soybean crop, which is typically 95 per cent

BASF, Monsanto Move On Dicamba Tolerance

BASF and Monsanto plan to work jointly on development of dicamba-tolerant cropping systems they expect to have available in Canada by mid-decade. The firms’ agreement, announced March 14, commits them to development and commercialization work on a dicamba-tolerant system, which would include BASF’s dicamba formulations and Monsanto’s dicamba-tolerant trait for soybeans. The companies expect the