Chinese authorities nudged Swiss agrichemicals and seeds group Syngenta to withdraw its application for a long-delayed $9 billion IPO in Shanghai on concerns about the impact a sizeable new offering would have on a volatile market, four people said.

Beijing nudged Syngenta to withdraw $9 billion Shanghai IPO on market weakness, sources say
China's securities watchdog's tighter scrutiny of IPOs has led some companies to scrap plans, move offshore

Pesticides under fire in U.S.
Recent court decisions have threatened farmers' abilities to use some herbicides
Pesticides are increasingly under attack in the United States and that is keeping farm leaders awake at night.

Ag chem maker FMC looks to sell non-core assets
Reuters — Crop protection products maker FMC Corp. has launched a strategic review of its non-core assets, including a potential sale of its non-crop business. A slowdown in demand for herbicide and pesticides as well as excess inventories had resulted in large destocking in South America, denting the U.S.-based company’s earnings for much of the […] Read more

The role of aerodynamics when crop spraying
Air disturbance from the sprayer itself may be affecting your drift risk
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – We’ve come a long way with sprayers. We’ve made them bigger, we’ve made them faster and with new visual technology and artificial intelligence, we’ve even made them smarter. Now, research by the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) along with the College of Agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan and Agrimetrix in Saskatoon […] Read more

Ag input firm FMC’s shares tumble after lowering financial targets
Partners 'rapidly reduced inventory levels'
Reuters — Shares of FMC Corp. fell more than eight per cent on Monday after the agricultural products supplier cut its outlook for the year on volume declines in most of its major markets. “Towards the end of May, we experienced unforeseen and unprecedented volume declines in three out of our four operating regions, as […] Read more

Insects posing problems in Saskatchewan crops
Grasshopper, flea beetle damage already reported
MarketsFarm – Although it’s still early in the growing season, some insect pests have already posed a threat to crops in Saskatchewan or could do so in the near future, according to James Tansey, provincial specialist for insects/invertebrate pest management. Among the pests he cited were grasshoppers, flea beetles and pea leaf weevils. Tansey said […] Read more

French agency drops fumigant ban on non-EU grain exports
Limit on phosphine won't apply if use required for export
Paris | Reuters — French health safety agency ANSES on Thursday cleared the use of phosphine pesticide in contact with grains exported outside the European Union when importing countries require the process, averting a halt to shipments from the EU’s top grain exporter. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine tablets used for […] Read more

France says pesticide ban will not hit grain exports
Fumigant can't be in 'direct contact' with grains
Paris | Reuters — France will ensure that a decision by health and safety agency ANSES to ban the use of a pesticide in direct contact with grains does not hamper its exports outside the European Union, its trade and agriculture ministers told Parliament on Tuesday. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine […] Read more

Ukraine faces lack of herbicides, pesticides for spring seeding
About a third of needed chemicals reported to be at hand
Kyiv | Reuters — Ukrainian farmers, which have already started the 2023 spring sowing, have only around 35 per cent of the herbicides and pesticides they need, analyst APK-Inform quoted on Monday official data as showed. The Russian invasion has left Ukraine seriously short of finances, seeds and crop protection products, which could have a […] Read more

How do you manage resistant pests?
Reading Time: < 1 minute Farmers are being asked to share their strategies on how to manage weed, insect and disease resistance. The contest offers prizes (iPads and Tim Hortons gift cards) for winning entries. “The Pest Management Challenge is an opportunity to get people talking and to encourage the adoption of resistance management best practices,” said Jennifer Hubert, an […] Read more