- Biome Makers BeCrop® technology is used across the globe to deliver insights into soil biology and sets the standard for soil health. Syngenta’s R&D-led LIVINGRO™ program will utilize BeCrop® to make science-based decisions that support the production of safe, healthy food while preserving and improving biodiversity and soil quality in agricultural ecosystems.
- COUNTRY Financial entered into an agreement with GROWMARK on the sale of the Financial Services Building, located at 1705 Towanda Ave in Bloomington, Illinois. The two organizations anticipate the sale to be finalized later this year.
- The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) released a 2020 report finding that the vast majority of fruits and vegetables sampled in the state meet federal pesticide safety standards. The California Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program Report shows 95% of domestically grown and imported produce samples collected in 2020 had either no detectable pesticide residues or had residues within the allowable tolerance, based on federally established thresholds. In addition, more than 97% of produce samples labeled as “grown in California” had no residues or allowable tolerances.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture announced it is awarding more than $1.8 million to support the work of the Agricultural Genome to Phenome Initiative (AG2PI) being led by Iowa State University in collaboration with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Idaho.
- During their 2022 Annual Meeting, CropLife America elected Andy Lee, president and CEO, Valent North America, as its newest chair of the CLA Board of Directors. Lee will hold the position for two years and use his diverse background to help guide the association. Andy succeeds Paul Rea of BASF Corporation who led the board from 2020 – 2022.
- New for 2023, Brevant® seeds brand Bovalta™ BMR silage corn builds on the high level of fiber digestibility that producers count on from BMR, with improved agronomics, tonnage and starch. Brevant seeds brand Bovalta BMR silage corn is built with the newest, elite genetics from Corteva Agriscience to help producers boost milk production and their bottom line.
- American Farmland Trust and the Natural Resource Conservation Service have signed a two-year, $2 million cooperative agreement to further develop and improve AFT’s soil health economic and environmental tools, including the Excel-based Retrospective Soil Health Economic Calculator (R-SHEC), the Excel-based Predictive Soil Health Economic Calculator (P-SHEC) and the Online-Soil Health Economic Calculator (O-SHEC).
- “Biologicals: Farmer Value, Perception and Potential,” a comprehensive market research effort focused on understanding farmer opinions on the current use, issues and potential for biologicals at field-level has announced the support of another six major players. “We’re pleased to announce that Evoia, the Biological Products Industry Alliance (BPIA), Certis, AMVAC, Lalleman and Redox have joined our forces,” said Cam Camfield, Founder and CEO of Stratovation Group in announcing the news.
- The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture for expanding the Post-Application Coverage Endorsement insurance option for corn farmers who “split-apply” nitrogen.
- Syngenta Crop Protection is launching the world’s first commercial digital solution to diagnose infestations of plant-parasitic nematodes in soybean crops by analyzing photographs taken from satellites.
- Climate change is threatening agriculture globally, and small-scale farmers in low and middle income countries are particularly vulnerable. To strengthen their resilience, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) awarded a $300,000 competitive grant to World Vision through AgMission, an initiative co-created by FFAR and the World Farmers’ Organisation to unlock agriculture’s potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. World Vision is providing additional funding for this project. The joint investment will enable in-depth examination of small-scale farmer adoption of climate-smart agriculture in India, Kenya and Bangladesh.
- AMVAC recently concluded a 12-stop Technology Summit road tour showcasing the expanding SIMPAS-applied Solutions™ portfolio and SIMPAS® application system.
- The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is encouraging growers to join its call-to-action and submit comments to the EPA on the important role atrazine, a popular herbicide, plays in their work. Comment period ends October 7. EPA is proposing a level of concern for atrazine at 3.4 parts per billion, down from the current level of 15 parts per billion.