Paris/Chicago | Reuters — Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is in exclusive talks to take over French animal feed business Neovia for 1.5 billion euros (C$2.3 billion) as part of the U.S. farm giant’s strategy to expand in the fast-growing animal nutrition sector. Neovia is majority owned by French cooperative group InVivo. Investment group Eurazeo […] Read more

ADM to buy French animal feed business Neovia

France open to phasing out glyphosate
Paris | Reuters — France is open to phasing out common weedkiller glyphosate, the government said on Monday, following complaints from farmers worried about a potential imminent ban. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe reiterated Paris would vote against the European Commission’s proposal to extend for 10 years the licence for glyphosate, which is used in Monsanto’s […] Read more

French farmers fume as government rejigs EU subsidies
Paris / Reuters – French farm unions cried foul over a government decision on Thursday to use part of European Union direct payments linked to output to finance rural development projects such as fast growing organic farming. The decision comes just days after France launched wide debate on the future of the food sector, aiming to […] Read more

France’s Roquette bets on pea protein with Manitoba plant
Paris | Reuters — French plant-based ingredient maker Roquette will build the world’s largest pea protein facility in Manitoba to meet fast-growing demand for vegetable protein in food and pharmaceutical products in North America, the group said Wednesday. The global pea protein market has seen a sharp rise in recent years, mainly driven by increasing […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat rises for a second day on short-covering
Singapore/Paris | Reuters, 7:01 a.m. CT –– Chicago wheat futures prices rose for a second session on Friday with short-covering ahead of the Labour Day holiday weekend supporting prices, although the trend was set for a second week of declines amid plentiful world supplies. Corn was up for a second day, recovering from a multi-year […] Read more

Corn, wheat prices seen hitting 10-year lows in 2016
Geneva | Reuters — Hefty supplies, large expected crops and poor U.S. exports will weigh on grain prices later this year with corn and wheat set to drop to 10-year lows as harvest nears, consultancy AgResource said Friday. In its first 2016 price forecast, the U.S.-based consultancy forecast Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) December corn […] 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

France promises “emergency” plan to help livestock farmers
Paris / Reuters – French President Francois Hollande is promising measures to help livestock and dairy farmers, who have been protesting for weeks over what they say is a squeeze on their profits by retailers and food processors. Since the weekend tractors have blocked roads in Normandy, including the route to Mont Saint-Michel, a famous tourist […] Read more

U.S. bird flu virus seen under control within a few months
Paris | Reuters — An epidemic of bird flu that has devastated U.S. poultry flocks this year is likely to be under control within a few months as the U.S. steps up measures to contain the virus and the summer weather weakens it, senior officials said on Tuesday. There is, however, a high risk that […] Read more

China’s wine growers beat France into second place
Paris | Reuters — China overtook France last year as the world’s second largest wine grower by area under cultivation as it continued to plant vast fields of mostly imported grape vines to meet growing demand. The world’s second largest economy, which since 2013 consumes more red wine than any other country, has more than […] Read more