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


GM Wheat Is Coming –Eventually

The need to make more money growing wheat will see genetically modified varieties commercialized in seven to 10 years, according to a leading American wheat organization. “I think this is a matter of when we have GM wheat products in the market, and not so much an if at this point,” Vince Peterson, U.S. Wheat

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


Canadians Join Patent Lawsuit

Aclutch of Canadian organic producers has signed on with a long list of mostly U.S. farm plaintiffs to “pre-emptively” sue Monsanto against any chance that the company could sue them over patent infringement. Ottawa-based Canadian Organic Growers (COG), along with 20 other farm groups, 12 seed businesses, including Interlake Forage Seeds of Manitoba, and 26

Organic Farmers Sue, Seek Protection From Monsanto

A consortium of U.S. organic farmers and seed dealers filed suit against global seed giant Monsanto Co. on Mar. 29, in a move to protect themselves from what they see as a growing threat in the company’s arsenal of genetically modified crops. The Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) filed the suit on behalf of more than


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

Hard Luck Story Draws In The Cash

Monsanto Canada has chosen the Manitou Curling Club as this year’s $10,000 grand prizewinner of its “Imagine a Better House” Community Curling Club Improvement contest. The 170-member, four-sheet curling club located in southwestern Manitoba has a long history dating back to its year of establishment in 1890. The current facility is approaching 50 years old


Letters – for Mar. 24, 2011

When “many appeared clueless about what was going on” as cited in the March 10 Manitoba Co-operator,how many of the canola growers invited to stack the largest annual meeting ever, beginning with all the MCGA directors who oversaw the theft of “the now-defunct grain co-operatives,” would have known or answered correctly that Manitoba’s Cinderella crop,

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