INDUSTRY NEWS

Lower returns on corn and hay are pushing crop growers to move more acreage to soybeans and cotton, according to USDA’s 2017 Prospective Plantings report, released March 31.

Northwest hay producers are operating at or below breakeven margins, but the 12-month profitability outlook is improved for those able to start with a clean inventory slate and keep a lid on costs, according to the latest Northwest Farm Credit Services’ Hay Market Snapshot report.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has given approval for the proposed acquisition of Syngenta by ChemChina, according to a Syngenta press release.

FMC Corp. and DuPont announced on March 31 the signing of a definitive agreement for FMC to acquire the portion of DuPont’s crop protection business it must divest to comply with the European Commission ruling related to its merger with The Dow Chemical Co.

Gui DeSouza, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at University of Missouri, and colleagues and students in his Vision-Guided and Intelligent Robotics (ViGIR) Laboratory partnered with researchers such as Felix Fritschi, an associate professor of plant sciences in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR), and Todd Mockler, a principal investigator with the Danforth Plant Science Center, to study the effects of climate change on crops in Missouri. Using principles developed in the ViGIR lab, DeSouza is changing the way agriculturists collect data in the field.

It's not clear that alfalfa growers fully knew that one of the most widely-used insecticides in their crop was about to be completely eliminated from use nationwide.