(Reuters) — A federal judge overseeing lawsuits alleging Bayer’s glyphosate-based herbicide causes cancer has issued a ruling that could severely restrict evidence that the plaintiffs consider crucial to their cases. In a Jan. 3 order, U.S. district judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco granted Bayer unit Monsanto’s request to split an upcoming trial into two […] Read more
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China gives long-awaited GM crop approvals amid U.S. trade talks
BEIJING, Jan 8 (Reuters) – China approved five genetically modified (GM) crops for import on Tuesday, the first in about 18 months in a move that could boost its overseas grains purchases and ease pressure from the United States to open its markets to more farm goods. The United States is the world’s biggest producer […] Read more
Trade wars cost U.S., China billions of dollars each in 2018
CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — The U.S.-China trade war resulted in billions of dollars of losses for both sides in 2018, hitting industries including autos, technology and above all, agriculture. Broad pain from trade tariffs outlined by several economists shows that, while specialized industries including U.S. soybean crushing benefited from the dispute, it had an overall […] Read more
Brazil soy seen threatened in early 2019 by below-average rains
SAO PAULO – The first days of 2019 will be marked by below-normal rainfall in Brazil’s main soybean producing areas, with farmers bracing for losses as December’s dry conditions and high temperatures continue to ruin fields. According to Refinitiv Eikon’s Agriculture Weather Dashboard data, rains will be below the historical average through Jan. 10 in […] Read more
Robots join the war on weeds
YVERDON-LES-BAINS, Switzerland/CHICAGO (Reuters) — In a field of sugar beets in Switzerland, a solar-powered robot that looks like a table on wheels scans the rows of crops with its camera, identifies weeds and zaps them with jets of blue liquid from its mechanical tentacles. Undergoing final tests before the liquid is replaced with herbicide, the […] Read more
Africa entices youth to farming with technology
RULINDO, Rwanda (Reuters) — Marie Chantal Akingeneye has had no source of manure for her fruits and vegetables since she lost her only cow to an unknown illness, but she hopes a new phone app could help. After attending a training session by the United Nations, which developed the technology, she thinks the app will […] Read more
Farm, food groups press U.S. officials to push for more EU access
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. farmer, rancher and food and beverage groups pressed the Trump administration on Friday to ensure that any new trade talks with the European Union boost their market access and decrease regulatory hurdles to that access. At a hearing on U.S. negotiating objectives for trade talks with the European Union, groups representing […] Read more
China’s new animal feed standards set to lower soybean consumption
BEIJING, Oct 28 (Reuters) – New standards of protein content in animal feed that China announced on Friday will cut the country’s annual soymeal consumption by 11 million tonnes and soybeans by 14 million tonnes, according to a statement from the agricultural ministry seen on Sunday. China is entering what is typically its top buying […] Read more
U.S. agriculture chief says no plan to extend farm aid to offset tariffs
WASHINGTON, Oct 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is not planning to extend an up to $12 billion aid package for farmers into 2019, Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Monday, to mitigate farmer losses due to the imposition of tariffs on American exports. “Farmers are very resilient and adept in making their planning […] Read more
Bayer lifted by likely new trial in $289 million glyphosate case
SAN FRANCISCO/FRANKFURT, Oct 11 (Reuters) – The prospect of a fresh trial that could overturn $289 million damages against Bayer’s Monsanto unit lifted the German company’s shares, after an August ruling that it failed to warn users of the alleged cancer risks of its weedkillers. The original verdict wiped 10 percent off the value of […] Read more
