- The Iowa Corn Growers Association and Iowa Corn Promotion Board rolled out an information campaign aimed at providing “Kernels of Truth” about the role of corn ingredients in the nation’s food supply. The ICGA and ICPB rolled out their campaign at a press luncheon featuring hamburgers, potato salad, brownies and cookies. Growers at the event made the point that corn contributed just 22¢ to the cost of each lunch. The “Kernels of Truth” campaign breaks down the bill for commonly purchased products – breakfast cereal, hamburger, eggs, milk, soft drinks, and ethanol – to show how much of the consumer price actually goes to farmers. With the help of local farmers, the organizations plan to carry their “Kernels of Truth” to supermarkets in Iowa in the coming months.
- Valent U.S.A. Corporation and its parent company, Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd., announced that they have filed complaints against Syngenta AG and a number of its subsidiaries in the International Trade Commission and against one Syngenta subsidiary in the U.S. District Court for Western Wisconsin. These cases seek relief for infringement of Sumitomo Chemical’s patent on an insecticide compound known as clothianidin, an insecticide used to control insect pests on plants. Valent and Sumitomo Chemical filed a separate complaint against Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, alleging that Syngenta’s later use patent on clothianidin is invalid.
- Syngenta announced that it has entered into an agreement with Athenix Corp. for the discovery of novel corn insect and soybean cyst nematode resistance genes. Under the agreement, Athenix will screen its extensive microbial strain collection for the identification and initial development of novel gene leads in the targeted areas of corn rootworm, European corn borer, broad lepidopteran, and soybean cyst nematode control. The resultant gene leads will be provided to Syngenta for further development.
