China approves Syngenta’s Viptera corn: reports

Chicago | Reuters — Chinese authorities have informed some agriculture industry officials that the government has approved U.S. imports of a type of genetically modified corn that has sparked lawsuits against seed maker Syngenta, according to reports from Agri-Pulse and Bloomberg. Syngenta will make an announcement about Chinese government approval of Agrisure Viptera corn, known

Syngenta sees China approving contentious GM corn soon

Chicago | Reuters — Syngenta expects to win Chinese government approval soon for imports of a type of genetically modified corn at the center of lawsuits over U.S. grain shipments rejected by Beijing, a company spokesman said Friday. Syngenta, one of the world’s largest seed companies, will make an announcement when it receives official documentation


(Dave Bedard photo)

ADM suing Syngenta over rejections of GMO corn

Reuters — Archer Daniels Midland sued seed company Syngenta on Wednesday over sales of a genetically modified corn variety not approved for import by China, joining more than 100 farmers and exporters in pursuing damages from the Swiss company. The lawsuit alleges Syngenta commercialized the MIR162 corn variety, also known as Agrisure Viptera, without creating

bee pollinating canola

Canola Council joins coalition for bee health road map

A diverse group of corporate entities join together 
with beekeepers as the Honey Bee Health Coalition

The Canola Council of Canada has joined the Honey Bee Health Coalition, a North American coalition of more than 30 organizations, in the hopes of improving pollinator numbers. “We’re really dependent on pollinators to have seed stocks for this 20-million-acre industry, so obviously we want that relationship to continue,” said Gregory Sekulic, who represents the



Treated corn seed linked to bee kills, Health Canada urges farmers to use best practices

Government issues list of 25 best practices to lower the risk of contamination 
instead of following Europe’s lead and banning neonicotinoid insecticides

Another round of “bee incidents” last year has prompted Health Canada to issue an updated list of mitigation measures to corn farmers who may have inadvertently killed the pollinators. A severe death rate during planting season in 2012 has been linked to a dry spell and widespread use of nitro-guanidine neonicotinoid insecticides on corn seed.


First fusarium-resistant spring wheat in pipeline

Launching two new Canadian Prairie Spring red (CPS) wheats, including the first fusarium head blight-resistant spring wheat bred for western Canadian farmers, is a great way to cap a 40-year-long career in planting breeding, says Doug Brown. Ten years in the making, HY1615, which is resistant to the yield-crippling fusarium, and HY1610, which is 10

Beekeepers ask courts to ban controversial pesticides

U.S. environmental regulators are failing to protect honeybees and should immediately suspend use of some toxic insecticides tied to the widespread deaths of bees, charges a new lawsuit. “It is a catastrophe in progress,” said migratory beekeeper Steve Ellis, who maintains 2,000 hives for pollinating crops from Minnesota to California. “We have an ongoing problem


PMRA reviews insecticide link to bee deaths

A class of insecticides that could be banned in the European Union because of their risk to honeybees is also under review in Canada. The neonicotinoid class includes imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam products which are the basis for several popular insecticides and seed treatments in Canada. Imidacloprid products include Bayer’s Admire and Gaucho, and thiamethoxam

Analysis: Wheat registration — having your cake and eating it too

Manitoba Co-operator’s Allan Dawson attended 
the Prairie Grain Development Committee’s 
annual meeting recently. Here’s his analysis on 
calls to change the registration system for 
western Canadian wheats

Calls to reform Western Canada’s wheat variety registration system boil down to the classic Canadian schism — the public and collective-managed approach versus letting the market decide. True to form, the majority of wheat industry officials see the solution somewhere in between, but there are powerful interests pushing for a market-driven approach. Private seed company