Brussels | Reuters — Glyphosate is unlikely to cause cancer in humans, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which nevertheless proposed limits on Thursday on the amount of residue of the herbicide widely used by farmers deemed safe to consume. The EFSA advises EU policymakers and its conclusion could lead the 28-member European […] Read more
EU scientists say glyphosate unlikely to cause cancer
Deere & Co. to buy Monsanto’s Precision Planting farm equipment business
Chicago/Reuters – Monsanto Co’s Climate Corp subsidiary on Tuesday announced a definitive agreement to sell its Precision Planting farm equipment business to Deere & Co for an undisclosed sum. The deal also allows nearly real-time data connections between certain John Deere farm equipment and Climate’s farming software programs, Climate FieldView. Climate will keep its digital farming […] Read more
Monsanto to shut three R+D centres next year
Chicago | Reuters –– Agrichemical company Monsanto plans to shutter three research and development centers in 2016 with a loss of about 90 jobs, it said Monday, as it restructures operations to cut costs in a slumping agricultural commodity market. The centers are in Middleton, Wisconsin, and Mystic, Connecticut, both of which focus on seed […] Read more
Monsanto clears USDA regulatory hurdle for new GM corn
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday signed off on a new genetically modified type of corn developed by Monsanto after a review concluded it posed no significant threat to agricultural crops, other plants or the environment. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced it would deregulate Monsanto’s MON […] Read more
Dow reviews options for farm chemical/seeds unit
Reuters — Dow Chemical said it would “review all options” for its farm chemicals and seeds unit, which has reported falling sales for nearly a year, and suggested that it might buy Corning’s stake in a silicon joint venture. Dow is also selling its stake in a Kuwaiti JV that produces a chemical used in […] Read more
Syngenta CEO leaves in wake of Monsanto deal rejection
Zurich | Reuters –– Syngenta CEO Mike Mack is stepping down as head of the Swiss agrochemicals group just two months after the company spurned a US$47 billion takeover approach from U.S. rival Monsanto. Mack, 55, will quit at the end of the month and chief financial officer John Ramsay will take charge on an […] Read more
Monsanto asks California not to list herbicide as cancer cause
Reuters — A plan by California environmental officials to list a commonly used herbicide as cancer-causing should be withdrawn, Monsanto told state regulators on Tuesday, saying California’s actions could be considered illegal because they are not considering valid scientific evidence. The formal comments were filed by Monsanto with the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment […] Read more
A dozen Albertans awarded $1,500 scholarships
The Monsanto Fund awarded 66 first-year scholarships this year
Reading Time: < 1 minute A dozen young Albertans have received $1,500 “opportunity scholarships” from the Monsanto Fund. In their application, each of these young people wrote about experience gained on their family farms, in community involvement, and in high school. “Agriculture has evolved from feeding your own family members to feeding your international family members,” Taylor Lassiter, whose family […] Read more
Monsanto slashing 2,600 jobs, buying back shares as sales fall
Reuters — Monsanto, one of the world’s largest seed and agrichemical companies, said Wednesday that it was slashing 2,600 jobs and restructuring operations to cut costs in a slumping commodity market. The company, which said it expected low prices for agricultural products to squeeze results well into 2016, also reported a much wider quarterly loss […] Read more
Think Europe’s halting GMOs? It could be heading for more
Paris | Reuters — The large number of European countries opposing GMO cultivation may have given the impression the bloc is putting a brake on GMOs, but with new crops queuing for approval and key countries leaving the door open, output is more likely to grow than wane. Nineteen out of 28 EU member states […] Read more
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