Frankfurt | Reuters – Germany’s BASF said on Wednesday its dividend policy and the value of assets on its balance sheet might be revised given uncertainty caused by the coronavirus crisis, particularly in North America and Europe. The policy of the world’s largest chemicals and plastics maker by sales to increase dividends each year and […] Read more
BASF says dividends, asset values under review as pandemic bites
BASF unveils InField Innovation Tours
BASF is making it easier, and during the pandemic, safer for farmers to get information about its products. On July 27 it launched a new website allowing farmers to visit the company’s research farms virtually. “InField Innovation Tours is a unique, virtual tour experience that enables anyone, from anywhere, to journey into our fields and […] Read more
Ag chem industry watching COVID-19’s spread
MarketsFarm –– China is a major producer of agricultural chemicals — and disruptions to production would have a ripple effect on North American supplies of crop protection inputs, such as herbicides and insecticides. Plant closures and transportation issues due to the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus are being followed closely, but the Canadian industry is reportedly […] Read more
Peach grower awarded US$265 million in dicamba drift suit
Reuters — A Missouri jury’s US$265 million award to peach grower Bill Bader in his lawsuit against herbicide providers Bayer and BASF has raised the stakes for the two companies as at least 140 similar cases head to U.S. courts later this year. A jury in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, handed Bader, […] Read more
Court orders big ag firms to hand over documents in antitrust probe
Ottawa | Reuters — A Canadian federal court has ordered a group of major agriculture companies to hand over records and communications in an antitrust probe sparked by allegations some businesses tried to block online farm-supply startup Farmers Business Network (FBN). In a series of court orders issued Tuesday, Federal Court Justice Denis Gascon said […] Read more
Probe eyes possibility of ‘co-ordinated behaviour’ in Big Ag
Competition Bureau probes majors' response to FBN's Canadian launch
Canada’s Competition Bureau is investigating leading agriculture companies for allegedly attempting to drive a California-based online farm-supply retailer out of the Canadian market. Documents filed in Federal Court show Federated Co-operatives, Cargill, Winfield United Canada, Univar Canada, BASF Canada Inc., Corteva and Bayer CropScience (and, by extension, Monsanto Canada) are all under investigation. Investigators with […] Read more
Competition Bureau probing big ag chem companies
Probe to look at firms' response to FBN's arrival in Canada
Reuters — The Canadian Competition Bureau said on Thursday it was investigating certain agriculture companies for alleged anticompetitive practices over allegations of trying to block an online farm-supply startup from doing business in Western Canada. The regulator did not provide details on specific companies involved in the probe, but documents filed on Jan. 30 in […] Read more
Corteva to accelerate Enlist E3 soybean rollout
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. seed and crop chemical maker Corteva said Thursday it will accelerate production of its next-generation biotech soybean seeds and complementary herbicides in Canada and the U.S. over the next five years. The move heightens the competition for sales to farmers with rivals Bayer and BASF. Up to 20 per cent […] Read more
AGI buys ag business management software muscle
Grain handling equipment maker Ag Growth Industries (AGI) plans to level up on its SureTrack farm management software platform with a deal for another Canadian player in the same business. Winnipeg-based AGI announced Thursday it has bought all outstanding shares in Oakville, Ont.-based Affinity Management Ltd., developer of the Compass brand of farm and agribusiness […] Read more
BASF Ag Solutions to move Canadian head office west
The Canadian arm of BASF Agricultural Solutions plans to relocate its head office to Calgary from Mississauga effective Oct. 1. The crop protection arm of the German chemical company said Wednesday it wants to move the Canadian head office “closer to customers” after closing its deals last year to buy a “range of businesses and […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
