(Dave Bedard photo)

StatsCan’s canola estimates taken with grain of salt

CNS Canada — Statistics Canada’s latest crop production estimates are in and while they may raise a few eyebrows, the numbers aren’t likely to cause havoc in the markets, according to most trade analysts. StatsCan on Tuesday pegged canola production in 2016-17 at 17 million tonnes. That compares to pre-report ideas of 15.9 to 20 […] Read more

(Syngenta.com)

U.S. watchdog clears ChemChina’s takeover of Syngenta

Zurich | Reuters — A U.S. regulator has cleared ChemChina’s US$43 billion takeover of Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta, the companies said Monday, boosting chances that the largest foreign acquisition ever by a Chinese company will go through. The decision should remove significant uncertainty over whether the acquisition of the world’s largest pesticides maker […] Read more



(Bayer.com)

Monsanto reported giving Bayer limited access to its books

Frankfurt | Reuters — U.S. seed company Monsanto has given German suitor Bayer limited access to its books after turning down a sweetened US$64 billion takeover offer last month, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. The parties have not yet signed a non-disclosure agreement, which would allow Bayer to conduct due diligence, but […] Read more



A Russian grain terminal at the Port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. (NMTP.info)

Lack of grain storage seen as record Russian crop looms

Moscow | Reuters — Russia is facing a lack of grain storage as it remains on track to produce the largest cereals crop in post-Soviet history, the head of Russia’s Grain Union, a non-government farmers’ lobby group, said Tuesday. Arkady Zlochevsky, the head of the union, told a briefing in Moscow he expected a grain […] Read more


Sunset in Egypt on the Nile River south of Luxor. (CIA.gov)

Egypt tightens import quarantine rules on grains

Cairo | Reuters — Egypt has tightened its agriculture quarantine regulations, imposing a rule that will prevent grain shipments suspected of contamination from being offloaded until they receive test results, according to a letter sent to traders Monday. The rule comes just one month after the world’s biggest wheat buyer discontinued its controversial zero tolerance […] Read more

(Dow.com)

EU regulators to investigate Dow, DuPont merger

Brussels | Reuters –– EU antitrust regulators have opened a full investigation into Dow Chemical and DuPont’s proposed US$130 billion merger, saying the deal may reduce competition in crop protection, seeds and some petrochemicals. The European Commission said the deal, which would create the world’s largest integrated crop protection and seeds company, may also hurt […] Read more


(Jade Markus photo for CNS Canada)

Churchill layoffs in effect, uncertainties remain

CNS Canada — Layoffs from Manitoba’s Port of Churchill are now in effect, but questions remain for those formerly employed by the port, the future of the town and the dynamics of Canadian grain handling. Answers to those questions aren’t coming from OmniTrax, the Denver-based railway that operates the port, as company officials have remained […] Read more

(AutonomousTractor.com)

Farm tech investment drops off after record year

Reuters — Investor backing for agriculture technology startups cooled in the first half of 2016 after record global investment last year, according to industry data released on Monday. Funding from venture capitalists and others totaled US$1.8 billion through the first six months of the year, down 20 per cent from a year earlier, while the number […] Read more