(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. grains: Soybeans down on trade war worry

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures closed at their lowest level in more than two years on Monday while corn fell to fresh contract lows on strong U.S. crop prospects and worries about trade fights with China and other main export partners. Wheat also retreated as rising supplies from the U.S. winter crop harvest […] Read more

(USDA.gov via Flickr)

U.S. grains: Wheat sets two-week high

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures touched a two-week high above US$5 a bushel on Friday on reduced expectations for France’s harvest while corn prices rose on concerns over unfavourably hot U.S. crop weather. Soybean futures touched a one-week low after a bout of selling late in the trading session erased earlier gains. An […] Read more

Southern Ontario wine grapes on the vine. (Dave Bedard photo)

World wine output falls to 60-year low

Paris | Reuters — Global wine output fell to its lowest level in 60 years in 2017 due to poor weather conditions in the European Union that slashed production in the bloc, international wine organization OIV said. Wine production totalled 250 million hectolitres last year, down 8.6 per cent from 2016, data from the Paris-based […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

France says will not ban glyphosate when no alternative

Saint-Genes-Champanelle, France | Reuters — France will not force farmers to stop using glyphosate after a ban planned within three years, in cases where an alternative has not been found, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday. He added that this would likely concern 10 per cent of farms while solutions could be found for the […] Read more

(Limagrain.com)

Limagrain says GMO protests could force R+D relocation

Paris | Reuters — Limagrain, the world’s fourth-largest seed maker, will consider moving its research activities out of France if field trials in its home market continue to be sabotaged by opponents of genetically modified crops. The French co-operative group was targeted last month by protestors who invaded test fields southeast of Paris and scattered […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Germany swings EU vote in favour of glyphosate

Brussels | Reuters — Germany defeated its key EU ally France in a very tight vote on Monday to clear the use of glyphosate herbicide for the next five years after a heated debate over whether it causes cancer. After months of indecisive votes among the 28 member states in Brussels, Germany, whose Chancellor Angela […] Read more

(Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

French court suspends pesticides over potential harm to bees

Paris | Reuters — A French court suspended on Friday the licence for two pesticides made by Dow Chemical, citing uncertainty over environmental risks including their effects on bees. The preliminary ruling by an administrative court in the city of Nice overturned a decision by France’s health and environment agency ANSES in September to grant […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

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


Photo: Thinkstock

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

(Dave Bedard photo)

China seen set to become world’s second-biggest wine market

Paris | Reuters — China is set to overtake Britain and France to become the world’s second-largest wine consumer by value behind the U.S. by 2020 as consumers turn to more middle-range wines, the International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR) organization said Thursday. In a study for wine fair Vinexpo it forecast Chinese wine consumption […] Read more