Greensboro, N.C., April 7, 2008 - Input costs racing upward at a steady pace are putting more pressure on growers’ bottom lines, requiring them to rethink their profit picture and place a sharper eye on inputs. However, commodity prices are at all-time highs, which is very encouraging for the agricultural industry because of the increased demand for commodities from global pressures for feed, food and fuel. …more

Calgary, Alberta and Germantown, Md.—Bayer CropScience Inc., Canada signs on to support WeatherBug®, the world’s leading provider of local weather information, in greatly expanding the WeatherBug Canadian Network of weather-monitoring stations across Western Canada. …more

ST. LOUIS, April 2, 2008 — Monsanto announced today its intention to make an investment of up to $196 million over the next 18 months at its glyphosate manufacturing facility in Luling, Louisiana. The planned development will increase its global capacity to produce Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides. …more

ST. LOUIS, Mo., March 26, 2008 - Information, and access to it, are critical components of weed control, according to Dr. Rick Cole, Monsanto technology development manager. The company announces the redesign of weedresistancemanagement.com, making it more focused on weed control solutions in both conventional and Roundup Ready technology systems, while delivering a more user-friendly interface. The site provides farmers information and guidance on effective weed management, ways to reduce the risk of developing weed resistance, and options to maximize yield potential through proper stewardship of traits and herbicides. …more

Raleigh, N.C. (March 17, 2008) – When yield results of competing corn fungicides are statistically equal, the best choice belongs to the one that provides broader disease protection and equal performance at a lower cost, and that choice is Bumper® fungicide, said Troy Bettner, senior marketing manager for fungicides for Makhteshim Agan of North America (MANA). Choosing a corn fungicide can be difficult based only on yield potential because different chemistries such as those in Bumper and Headline® fungicides often show statistically equal yields in side by side trials, said Bettner. …more

Trilex 6000 Soybean System offers one stop for seed-applied inputs.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (March 13, 2008) — Expanding farm sizes, intricate record-keeping requirements and complex input decisions all make increasing demands on the one finite resource shared by soybean growers: time. …more

Acquisition Further Expands Sunflower and Corn Business

INDIANAPOLIS and RALLS, TEXAS — Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, announced today it will further expand its plant biotechnology business with the acquisition of Triumph Seed of Ralls, Texas. …more

Nashville, Tenn., March 4, 2008 – Growers planting transgenic corn-on-corn should rotate traits to avoid yield penalties of up to 20% from volunteer corn.

That’s according to Bruce Battles, agronomy marketing manager with Syngenta Seeds, Inc., speaking on Friday at the 2008 Commodity Classic in Nashville, Tennessee. His remarks were part of a Learning Center session on protecting yield potential in continuous corn. …more

(Nashville, TN – Feb. 28, 2008) – Treating corn rootworm hybrids with soil insecticides boosted yields an average of 12 bushels per acre in university trials across the Corn Belt in 2007.

The 17 yield comparisons, which were conducted by university researchers at the University of Illinois, Purdue University, Ohio State University, the University of Nebraska and the University of Wisconsin, compared YieldGard® and Herculex® trait corn alone and in combination with various soil insecticides. Insecticides included Counter® 15G, Fortress® 5G, Aztec® 4.67G and Force® 3G applied with the SmartBox® closed handling and application system. …more

Optimum® AcreMaxTM new insect protection system introduced to U.S. farmers

DES MOINES, Iowa, March. 4, 2008 - DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred introduced the first “in-the-bag” seed refuge system to farmers during Commodity Classic, the industry’s premier agricultural trade show and convention.

The new insect protection system, Optimum® AcreMaxTM, will provide corn growers with improved productivity by increasing the number of acres farmers can plant to the industry’s most advanced insect control options. The first phase of Optimum® AcreMaxTM insect protection will be launched as early as 2009, pending regulatory approval. The system will eliminate the need for farmers to plant separate corn borer and corn rootworm refuges with their Pioneer® brand Bt corn hybrids. …more