(Dave Bedard photo)

Cargill to stop selling seed, inputs in Black Sea region

Chicago | Reuters –– Cargill will stop selling seeds, fertilizer and crop chemicals to farmers in the Black Sea region, as the global trader continues to cut back operations in the face of sliding commodity prices. The 150-year old company, one of the world’s largest privately held corporations, is in the middle of a restructuring […] Read more


The Big River Resources ethanol plant at West Burlington, Iowa, about 120 km southwest of Davenport. (Steven Vaughn photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Cruz’s Iowa victory could show Big Corn’s waning influence

New York | Reuters — U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz’s victory on Monday in corn-rich Iowa could represent a major blow to the country’s controversial biofuels program, reflecting its waning influence over politicians even in the U.S. farm heartland. Cruz, a conservative senator from Texas and outspoken opponent of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), […] Read more

(CN.ca)

CN’s 2015 grain handle down, grain revenue up

Canadian National Railway’s (CN) fourth-quarter and full-year ledgers show lower traffic, but increased revenue, from its grain and fertilizer business in 2015, en route to record full-year earnings. Montreal-based CN on Tuesday reported overall net income of $3.538 billion on $12.611 billion in total revenues for 2015, up from $3.167 billion on $12.134 billion for […] Read more






(EPA.gov via Flickr)

U.S. EPA asks court to pull registration for Enlist Duo

UPDATED, Nov. 25, 2015 — Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking court approval to withdraw registration of Dow AgroSciences’ herbicide Enlist Duo, as the agency studies new information regarding the product’s impact on non-target plants, according to court documents filed late Tuesday. The EPA approved the herbicide for sale […] Read more


(PortSeattle.org)

Cereals North America: Shift to La Nina may hurt yields

Winnipeg | CNS Canada –– El Nino weather patterns are typically beneficial to North American grain yields, but cut into the production prospects of key Eastern Hemisphere demand markets, according to presenters at this week’s Cereals North America conference. However, an expected shift toward La Nina conditions by late 2016 could see North American grain yields […] Read more