Between $500 million and $600 million will be returned to the MF Global Inc. estate under an agreement announced by the trustee for the Securities Investor Protection Act liquidation of MFGI and the joint administrator of MF Global UK Ltd.
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Growmark buys Bunge’s interest in B-G Fertilizer
Growmark Inc., Bloomington, Ill., has agreed to purchase Bunge North America’s interest in B-G Fertilizer LLC, which owns and operates the former CF Industries terminal located in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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Keytrade AG to market Chinese fertilizer
Sinochem Fertilizer Co Ltd., of China, and Keytrade AG have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Sinochem fertilizers and other Chinese fertilizers to be marketed by Keytrade AG in Latin America and Africa.
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Crop protection products search engine on website
Anyone accessing AgProfessional.com can now use a new “search widget” to find chemical/crop protection data by product name, company name, active ingredient, product category, crop or pest.
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Port strikes averted with 30-day extension
The dock workers’ union reached a tentative agreement with shippers and port operators to avert a strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports on Dec. 28. The union and the shipping companies have extended a strike deadline 30 days while they hash out issues on a new collective bargaining agreement.
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Voting for new product of 2012 lagging behind
What ag product is the best new product introduced in 2012? We are still waiting for most of you who visit AgProfessional.com and read the e-newsletters to vote.
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Icy waters in North add to Mississippi River problems downstream
The new year brings intensified shipping difficulties for barge operators on the stretch of the Mississippi River just south of St. Louis.
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Vilsack says rural America needs a new mindset
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture garnered a lot of media attention on Dec. 6 when he asked the attendees at the 2012 Farm Journal Forum, “Why is it that we don’t have a Farm Bill?”
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Cover crop nearly doubled acreage goal
Enthusiastic farmers in the Great Lakes region planted more than 27,500 acres of cover crops as part of the Great Lakes Cover Crop Initiative, leaving the project’s three-year, 15,000-acre goal far behind.
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Computer modeling shows how to tackle weeds
Herbicide-resistant weeds have long been a headache for growers, but university and Syngenta scientists have pooled resources to crack the resistance code, using specially designed modeling computer software.
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Koch acquires Farmers Plant Food
Koch FPF Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Koch Fertilizer LLC has acquired Farmers Plant Food Inc., a privately-held fertilizer manufacturer and distributor of value-added fertilizer products and services.
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BIG PICTURE
By Doane EconomistWe recently posted a poll question asking our farmer subscribers to respond to a question regarding corn planting intentions for 2013. Fourteen percent indicated they plan to increase corn acreage from 2012 while 62 percent planned to keep acreage about the same. However, 18 percent of respondents plan to reduce corn acreage versus 2012 and 7 percent did not plant corn in 2012 or 2013. A slightly larger percentage of producers indicate they plan to reduce acreage rather than increase corn plantings (18 percent versus 14 percent).
