Sao Paulo | Reuters – Corteva Agriscience said on Aug. 9 it will start selling biotech soybean seeds in Brazil, as it seeks to bolster its presence in the world’s largest producer of the oilseed and tackle German rival Bayer AG. Corteva said its Enlist soybean seeds can resist three weed killers including glyphosate, ammonium […] Read more
Corteva launches Brazil biotech soy, tackles Bayer head-on
Bayer Q2 misses forecasts as costs, forex effects bite
Frankfurt | Reuters – Bayer shares fell to their lowest levels in more than seven months after the German agricultural and pharmaceuticals group reported lower-than-expected second-quarter core earnings due to higher production costs and currency headwinds. Second-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) before special items fell 10.6 percent to 2.58 billion euros ($3.05 billion), […] Read more
U.S. judge rejects Roundup settlement plan as ‘unreasonable’
Proposal would cover suits over future illnesses
Reuters — A U.S. judge rejected Bayer’s US$2 billion class action proposal to resolve future lawsuits alleging its Roundup herbicide causes cancer, saying in a Wednesday order that parts of the plan were “clearly unreasonable.” U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said the proposal “would accomplish a lot for Monsanto,” which Bayer […] Read more
Mexican judge rejects industry bid to halt GMO corn, glyphosate ban
Farm council warns of lost productivity
Mexico City | Reuters — A Mexican federal judge ruled against a request by the National Farm Council to freeze a government plan to ban genetically modified (GMO) corn and the widely used herbicide glyphosate by 2024, the national science council said on Monday. Judge Martin Adolfo Santos Perez’s ruling allows the executive order issued […] Read more
Federal reprieve for imidacloprid cuts its application rates
Proposal for near-total ban rejected in Health Canada's final decision
A member of the neonicotinoid family of insesticides and seed treatments has been pulled back from the brink of an all-out ban in Health Canada’s final re-evaluation ruling. Most agricultural uses of imidacloprid — sold by Bayer under brands such as Gaucho, Merit and Admire, and by Adama under brands such as Alias and Sombrero […] Read more
U.S. judge raises doubts ahead of hearing on Roundup settlement
'The last question is a killer'
Reuters — A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday questioned a US$2 billion proposal by Bayer that would create a framework for resolving future claims that its Roundup herbicide causes cancer, casting doubt on the plan a day before a key hearing. Bayer and class action attorneys hope U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco […] 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
Triple-herbicide-tolerant soybean set for limited 2021 release
Bayer's XtendFlex soybeans pick up needed approvals
Bayer Crop Science expects to have “a small volume” of its new XtendFlex soybeans in the Canadian seed market for the 2021 growing season. XtendFlex soybeans, whose trait package is stacked with herbicide tolerance for glyphosate and dicamba as well as glufosinate, will be available in Canada for planting this spring, but not in all […] Read more
China to approve further domestic GMO corn, soy crop varieties
Beijing | Reuters — China said on Monday it was set to approve the safety of another genetically modified (GMO) corn variety and a GMO soybean, both produced by Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co. Ltd. The move comes after China last year approved three domestically designed GMO crops as safe, the first in a decade, […] Read more
Mexico farm lobby blasts ban on GMO corn
Country's organic growers welcome ban
Monterrey, Mexico | Reuters — Mexico’s main agricultural lobby on Saturday criticized the government’s decision to ban genetically modified corn, while organic growers hailed the move that should protect smaller farmers. Mexico will “revoke and refrain from granting permits for the release of genetically modified corn seeds into the environment,” stated a decree issued Thursday […] Read more
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