Reading Time: < 1 minute DuPont said on Feb. 17 that its agricultural unit had formed an alliance in sub-Saharan Africa to collaborate on development of higher-yielding maize varieties that need less fertilizer. DuPont’s Pioneer Hi-Bred unit will contribute gene technology in work led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and funded with $19.5 million in grants […] Read more
DuPont Works With African Alliance
Monsanto Wins Round One In Roundup Ready Dispute
Reading Time: 2 minutes Monsanto Co. said Jan. 19 a federal court had ruled in its favour in a bitter dispute with key rival DuPont, finding DuPont had violated a licensing agreement in trying to combine certain genetic seed traits developed by Monsanto with its own. DuPont officials said the court decision was “narrow” allowing them to continue to […] Read more
DuPont Urges Curbs On Monsanto
Reading Time: 2 minutes DuPont has asked U.S. regulators to rein in practices by seed industry leader Monsanto Co, claiming its rival is hindering competition and limiting innovation needed to feed a growing world population. DuPont, which owns Pioneer Hi-Bred International, said Jan. 8 Monsanto is unfairly using monopoly powers to drive up prices and stymie competition. “Monsanto has […] Read more
Poor Price Outlook May Mean Less U.S. Winter Wheat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Wet fields and weak prices amid already ample world wheat supplies could spell fewer U.S. winter wheat acres planted this fall. Despite some of the best soil moisture seen in years, many farmers in key U.S. growing areas last week were either still evaluating how much wheat to plant or were planning to sow fewer […] Read more
Monsanto Jumps Back Into Wheat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Five years after shelving a controversial biotech wheat product, Monsanto said July 14 it is jumping back into the wheat business, paying $45 million to acquire WestBred LLC, a specialist in wheat germplasm. Monsanto said in the near term, the transaction will allow Montana-based WestBred to apply Monsanto breeding tools to develop higher-yielding varieties for […] Read more
U. S. Wheat Farmers Starting Combines, Counting Losses
Reading Time: 2 minutes Harvesting of the new U.S. winter wheat harvest was off to a less-than-enthusiastic start last week as farmers began combining what was left of weather-ravaged southern wheat fields. From Texas, where drought and a late freeze cut estimated yields in half or worse, across weather-damaged fields in Oklahoma and water-logged Arkansas wheat fields where concerns […] Read more
Kansas Wheat Scouts Seeing Good Yield Prospects
Reading Time: < 1 minute Crop scouts surveying wheat fields in Kansas, the top U. S. wheat-producing state, last Tuesday were finding early signs of good yield potential with preliminary estimates ranging from 40 to 50 bushels per acre. There was little sign of damage or disease in fields scouted through northern and central parts of the U. S. Midwestern […] Read more
Tale Of Two Wheat Crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s a tale of two wheat crops in the U.S. Plains winter wheat belt. In Kansas, the top U.S. wheat-growing state, Hard Red Winter wheat fields are flourishing, helped by recent snow and rain followed by a turn to sunny skies. But in the key growing states of Oklahoma and Texas, the bulk of the […] Read more
Snowstorms bring cheer to U. S. wheat farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Oklahoma wheat farmer Keith Kisling had two words for the late winter snowstorm that swept across the U. S. Plains: “Perfect timing.” After an extended run of an extremely dry winter, farmers throughout key winter wheat-growing U. S. states largely welcomed the several inches of snow, ice and rain that hit March 28 and 29. […] Read more
GMO Acres Seen Rising Worldwide
Reading Time: 2 minutes Global plantings of genetically modified corn, soybeans and other crops grew 9.4 per cent last year as economic challenges spurred growing political will to adopt biotech crops that help farmers fight weeds, pests and crop diseases, an industry-backed study said Feb. 11. More than 13 million farmers in 25 countries planted 125 million hectares of […] Read more