Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico’s antitrust watchdog said Tuesday it has given approval to DuPont and Dow Chemical to merge on the condition that they sell certain crop protection products and other assets. The asset sales required by Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) is similar to what U.S. antitrust enforcers asked of the […] Read more

Mexico gives conditional approval to Dow, DuPont merger

Syngenta eyes Bayer assets to bolster seed operations
Basel | Reuters — Switzerland’s Syngenta, the crop protection company acquired by ChemChina, has vowed to bulk up its seeds business and join the chase for assets rival Bayer must sell to gain regulatory approval for its takeover of Monsanto. Syngenta, a distant third in the global seeds market behind Monsanto and Dupont, is determined […] Read more

U.S. clears Couche-Tard to buy CST, with conditions
Washington | Reuters — Alimentation Couche-Tard has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy rival CST Brands on condition that it sell up to 71 stores in eight states, the Federal Trade Commission said on Monday. Alimentation Couche-Tard, a major Canada-based chain of convenience stores and gas stations, said in August that it would buy the […] Read more

StatsCan wheat acres watched closely
CNS Canada — Persistent concerns over the state of the U.S. spring wheat crop should place more attention than normal on Canada’s wheat area when Statistics Canada releases updated acreage estimates on Thursday. Ahead of the report, trade estimates for all-wheat area range from 21.5 million to 23.2 million acres, which would compare with the […] Read more

Canada’s Richardson buys European Oat Millers
Winnipeg | Reuters –– Richardson International, one of Canada’s largest grain handlers, said Monday it had purchased European Oat Millers in a deal that expands its geographic reach. The acquisition of European Oat Millers, the second-largest oat miller in Europe, closed on June 15, Richardson said in a statement. Both companies are privately owned. Winnipeg-based […] Read more

U.S. grains: CBOT wheat falls on profit-taking
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat prices fell about two per cent on Monday, extending their slide to four sessions on profit-taking after a run-up to one-year highs last week, analysts said. Corn and soybeans rose in a light recovery bounce from multimonth lows set last week, and Minneapolis Grain Exchange spring […] Read more

Former Alberta agriculture minister LeRoy Fjordbotten, 78
Memorial services will be held Sunday in Claresholm, Alta. for LeRoy Fjordbotten, the farmer and consultant who served as Alberta’s agriculture minister from 1982 to 1986. Fjordbotten, who died June 8, farmed northeast of Granum, about 60 km northwest of Lethbridge, and was a member of Flying Farmers of Alberta before running for the Progressive […] Read more

U.S. grains: Spring wheat at 2-1/2-year high, corn at six-month low
Chicago | Reuters –– MGEX spring wheat futures jumped to a 2-1/2-year high on Friday and Chicago Board of Trade corn futures dipped to a six-month low in technically driven trade amid an outlook for generally favourable U.S. crop weather, traders said. Soybean futures touched the lowest levels in more than a year before paring […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soy hits 17-month low, corn two-month low
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures touched a 17-month low and corn fell to a roughly two-month low on Thursday, pressured by forecasts for cooler weather conditions that could reduce stress on developing crops, traders and analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures followed corn lower, declining for the second straight session even […] Read more

Trade sees Canadian farmers trimming wheat, canola acres
Winnipeg | Reuters — Soggy spring conditions in key crop-growing areas of the Canadian Prairies left farmers unable to plant as much as they intended, but canola seedings still look record-large, according to a Reuters survey of 16 traders and analysts ahead of a government report next week. Wet weather made fields sloppy in Alberta’s […] Read more