- Exports of U.S. agricultural-related equipment to nations around the world topped $5.8 billion dollars for the first half of 2008 compared to mid-year 2007 numbers, for an increase of 30.5 percent, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. Asia and Central America recorded modest gains while all other major world regions reported substantial growth, led by Australia/Oceania and South America.
- Monsanto Company and Evogene Ltd. have entered into a five-year research and development collaboration focused on identifying key plant genes related to yield, environmental stress and fertilizer utilization. The agreement is intended to enhance research efforts to discover and deliver novel, yield-enhancing technologies at a time of increasing demand for grain globally.
- IRON Solutions announced at the Farm Progress Show that it has been acquired by a new group of investors. Spearheading the acquisition is the leading “Software-as-a-Service” (or SaaS) venture capital firm StarVest Partners. StarVest is joined in a limited partnership with Dublin Capital Partners and Spring Mountain Capital and strategic investor GVIC Communications Corporation. Current investors in IRON Solutions will retain a 10 percent ownership stake in the new company, IRON Solutions.
- Mr. Modibo Tiémoko Traoré, a former Minister for Rural Development with the Government of Mali, has taken over as FAO Assistant Director-General charged with the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department.
