Reuters — Bayer and BASF have won a new trial on US$60 million in punitive damages they were ordered to pay a Missouri peach farmer who said dicamba, a herbicide they produced, drifted onto his orchard and harmed his crops. The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that a federal jury was wrongly told […] Read more
Bayer, BASF win new trial on damage award in U.S. dicamba suit
BASF pegs InVigor canola woes
BASF says they are aware of the issues farmers are seeing in some of their canola varieties. A statement from the company, released in mid-June, noted that some InVigor hybrids “may be encountering various challenges that could be hindering crop establishment this season.” The issue had been noted in “select geographies” in Western Canada, according […] Read more
Safety awareness program for farm kids returns
Reading Time: < 1 minute A safety initiative for farm children is being brought back after a successful launch last year. The BASF Safety Scouts program gives out kits that include an adjustable child-sized safety vest, safety-themed activity and colouring sheets, and badges. Last year, more than 2,000 kits were sent out to farm families across the country, said BASF […] Read more
GM ramps up EV push with plans to make battery materials in Canada
Automaker and BASF both plan CAM plants at Becancour
Reuters — General Motors and South Korea’s POSCO Chemical will build a $400 million facility to produce battery materials in Canada as the carmaker ramps up plans to produce mainly electric vehicles (EVs) in the future, the companies said Monday. The plant will produce cathode active material (CAM) for vehicle batteries at Becancour, Que. Cathodes […] Read more
Food aid volunteer group in the Peace gets a boost
Reading Time: < 1 minute Peace Country Gleaners, a non-profit in La Crete that helps feed hungry people around the world, has been awarded the $25,000 grand prize in the BASF Community Challenge. The nine-year-old organization processes locally grown vegetables, which are then dehydrated, used in soup mixes made by a sister group in B.C. and distributed by food aid […] Read more
Layering on digital data
Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College Smart Farm has received a $300,000 donation from BASF Digital Farming for HyperLayer data concept. This process collects and analyzes several layers of data from across the Smart Farm’s 2,800 acres. “It centres around compiling topographical data, detailed soil nutrient and moisture mapping, multi-spectral and hyper-spectral imagery, yield data, and other layers of […] Read more
‘Community Challenge’ helping community groups
Reading Time: < 1 minute This year’s BASF Community Challenge features a $25,000 grand prize for a community organization along with $5,000 each for eight other community groups. Farmers who have grown InVigor hybrid canola can nominate an organization and must either say how the organization made a difference in their community or “share their BASF success story.” Details and […] Read more
BASF warns on seeding choices for drought-hit imi-treated fields
Steer clear of non-Clearfield canola, durum, canary seed in rotations, company says
Updated, Sept. 22 — The maker of Odyssey, Solo and Viper is warning grain growers whose fields were excessively dry in 2021 that those herbicides may not break down soon enough in those soils to allow certain seeding choices in 2022. BASF Canada on Monday issued an “urgent notice to growers” in which the company […] Read more
Farm safety kits aim to teach important lessons early
Reading Time: < 1 minute There’s a pair of new activity kits for farm kids and youth, both aimed at keeping them healthy but in different ways. The BASF Safety Scouts program is billed as “a fun and interactive way to support family farm safety.” The ag company has partnered with the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) on the kits, […] Read more
Bayer, Corteva in ‘two-dog battle’ over U.S. soy market
Companies' GM soybeans jockey for market share
Chicago | Reuters — Bayer is launching a new genetically modified soybean in the United States, striking back against rival Corteva in a bid to retain its dominant position supplying seeds to the $40 billion U.S. soy industry. Billions of dollars are on the table for companies producing a growing variety of seeds for soybeans, […] Read more