News from the week of March 18 - 24, 2007

News Topics

• Ag Biotech
  Soya & oilseed-related biotech and seed breeding
• Biobased Products
  Biofuels, polymers and other new, oilseed-based products
• Commodities and Trade
  International trade in soybean and oilseed commodities
• Grains
  Wheat, corn, rice, barley, oats and other grains
• Ingredients and Nutraceuticals
  Soya & oilseed-derived food and nutritional ingredients
• Soybean & Oilseed Processing
  Crushing, refining and other processing
• Soyfoods
  New food products, nutrition research and market trends

Ag Biotech top

BASF and Monsanto Announce R&D and Commercialization Collaboration Agreement in Plant Biotechnology BASF and Monsanto Company today announced a long-term joint research and development and commercialization collaboration in plant biotechnology that will focus on the development of high yielding crops … READ MORE »

Novozymes Unveils New Strategy to Achieve Economically Viable Cellulosic Ethanol At the 4th Annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing in Orlando, Florida, Novozymes today introduced a five-step strategy to achieve economically viable cellulosic ethanol … READ MORE »

Novozymes Opens Midwest Location to Enhance Ethanol Research and Service Support As industrial and national interest in ethanol-based fuel research and production continues to increase, Novozymes has established a Midwest Customer Solutions Center in Ames, Iowa. The Center, located at the Iowa State … READ MORE »

Biobased Products top

Ethanol's Growing List of Enemies: Unlikely Assortment of Groups Unite to Cut Government Support "This ethanol binge is insane," says Paul Hitch, who is president-elect of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. "This talk about energy independence and wrapping yourself in the flag and singing God Bless America … READ MORE »

New Biodiesel Production Method Developed by DOE Scientists A new material developed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory might replace a costly process in biodiesel production. Scientists at the laboratory’s Nanoscience Center say the … READ MORE »

Biofuels Markets Americas 2007 Aims to Assist Growth in South America’s Biofuels Industry MORE

Brazil's Goias State to Gain 9 New Biodiesel Plants Brazil’s center-south Goias state will gain an additional 9 biodiesel projects in coming months with estimated investments projected at roughly 320 million Brazilian reals ($154 million), the state government’s … READ MORE »

Brazilian Ethanol Boom Draws Prominent Investors A new ethanol company with prominent foreign investors took a big step Friday toward starting operations in Brazil, announcing the private placement of US$200 million. Founding shareholders include venture capitalist Vinod … READ MORE »

George Soros Bets on Ethanol Growth Billionaire financier George Soros expects ethanol to grow as an alternative energy source, he told Brazilian financial newspaper Valor Economico. "I think that the ethanol is a very attractive alternative and, as an investor … READ MORE »

Fuel for Thought - Biofuels Study Examines Production, Supply and Reality of This Burning Market MORE

EU Biodiesel Industry Accuses U.S. of Unfairly Exporting Brazilian, Malaysian Biofuels As global trade of biofuels heats up, European biodiesel producers this week charged that they have uncovered an "unfair" loophole for biodiesel sourced from Brazil and Malaysia to enter the EU: shipment via the U.S. … READ MORE »

Broin Companies to Construct Their 30th Ethanol Production Facility in Northern Ohio The Broin Companies, the nation’s largest dry mill ethanol producer, announced that they will construct their company’s 30th ethanol production facility near Fostoria, Ohio. At 65 million gallons of ethanol per … READ MORE »

Denver-Based Ethanol Startup Announces Plans for Three More Midwest Production Facilities BioFuel Energy, LLC, a privately held ethanol company, today announced that it had finalized selection of sites on which it plans to build its next three ethanol production facilities. The Company is currently constructing … READ MORE »

Pure Biofuels Triples Size of Planned Peru Biodiesel Project Nevada-based Pure Biofuels has increased the planned capacity of its Callao port complex to produce an annual 52.5mn gallons of biodiesel, the company said in a statement. The plant will be roughly triple the size of the … READ MORE »

Dow Chemical Debuts Monopropylene Glycol Derived from Biodiesel Byproduct The Dow Chemical Company today announced a significant milestone in its pursuit of sustainable chemistries, with the introduction of monopropylene glycol derived from renewable resources … READ MORE »

Commodities and Trade top

Corn Market Watching to See if Next Crop Can Match Demand The corn market could challenge new highs until there is more certainty about whether or not the United States has planted enough acres to satisfy demand, says a southwest Minnesota market analyst … READ MORE »

Global Warming Impacting Cereals Production: U.S. Scientists U.S. government scientists have found rising temperatures since 1981 have caused annual losses of about $5 billion in the world’s major cereal crops. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories researchers discovered … READ MORE »

Soybeans Expected to Lose over 4 Million Acres to Corn: Informa Economics The possibility farmers could plant 4 million to 5 million fewer acres of soybeans this year is one of the driving forces behind higher futures prices, said Brad Anderson, senior vice president at Informa Economics … READ MORE »

Why ICE May Win the CBOT: The Upstart Futures Exchange May Allay Antitrust Concerns Barely two months after shaking up the futures-trading world by paying $1 billion to take over the New York Board of Trade, IntercontinentalExchange Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Sprecher is riling the markets anew … READ MORE »

Illinois Farm Bureau Keeps Wary Eye on Asian Soybean Rust At the end of last year, soybean rust was confirmed for the first time in several Southern Illinois counties. Additionally, a case of soybean rust was recently confirmed in Iowa. The positive test was believed to be … READ MORE »

Grains top

American Italian Pasta Company Expands Foodservice Offerings American Italian Pasta Company, the largest producer of dry pasta in North America and longtime leading provider of pasta to the foodservice industry, is extending its foodservice offerings with the introduction … READ MORE »

Ralcorp Holdings Completes Purchase of Bloomfield Bakers Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. announced today that it has completed the purchase of Bloomfield Bakers, a leading manufacturer of nutritional and cereal bars and natural and organic specialty cookies, crackers and cereals … READ MORE »

Wheat Production Outlook - University of Illinois Wheat price volatility will likely continue due to the uncertainty about U.S. and world production of wheat and other crops, said a University of Illinois Extension marketing specialist. "However, the longer term price trend … READ MORE »

New Durum Wheat Line Resists Scab Disease: ARS Scientists A new germplasm line of durum wheat, dubbed DGE-1, is now available for geneticists and researchers to use in the fight against the fungus Fusarium graminearum, which causes scab disease. … READ MORE »

Japanese Companies Invited to Invest in Advanced Technology for 40 Thai Flour Plants The Department of Industrial Works has joined with the Japan Society of Industrial Machinery Manufacturers to invite Japanese companies to invest in advanced technology for 40 local flour plants … READ MORE »

Ingredients and Nutraceuticals top

Louisiana Processor Finds New Demand for Mechanically Processed Cottonseed Meal As a burgeoning biodiesel industry continues its binge on U.S. vegetable oil production, including oil pressed from cottonseed, one processor has demonstrated a special appetite for a bygone byproduct - mechanically expelled … READ MORE »

Hands-On Course on Food Proteins in Europe to Be Conducted by ProSoy in April "Various companies have asked us to organise a course with a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience and know-how of food proteins combining theory and practice", says Gerard Klein Essink, Director with PROSOY Research … READ MORE »

Lignans May Help Cut Cancer Risk - National Cancer Institute French researchers say a diet rich in lignans may help prevent breast cancer in older women. The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, followed 58,000 French women for … READ MORE »

Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Aid Bone Health - Swedish Study Scientists from Sweden have found that an intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in particular docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is associated with bone mineral accrual and peak bone mineral density … READ MORE »

Soy Hops on the Aquaculture Bandwagon The American soybean industry has been quick to jump on the bandwagon of aquaculture, one of the fastest-growing food segments in the world. Administrators of the U.S. soybean checkoff saw the long-term potential in … READ MORE »

Soy Protein Patents: Solae Patents Protein Nuggets; Protein and Statin Product; Protein Hydrolyzate; Noodles and Wraps The present invention relates to food materials containing a high concentration of vegetable protein and processes for their manufacture. More particularly, the present invention relates to vegetable protein … READ MORE »

Soybean & Oilseed Processing top

Soybean Ethanol? New Enzyme Technology to Create New Possibilities for Soy-, Corn-based Fuel In a modern form of alchemy, research is under way to turn soybeans into ethanol. The research, from C5-6 Technologies, could pump billions of dollars into the nation’s soybean farms … READ MORE »

Plainfield, Iowa Soy-Based Industrial Lubricants Manufacturing Plant Destroyed by Fire A fire all but destroyed a soy-based lubricants plant this afternoon, causing officials to shut down at least a mile of U.S. 218 per safety concerns. The cause of the blaze at the Environmental Lubricants Manufacturing plant … READ MORE »

MGP Ingredients Appoints New VP for Distillery Business Segment; Search for New CFO Underway Ladd Seaberg, chairman and chief executive officer of MGP Ingredients, Inc., has announced the planned appointment of Brian Cahill to the newly created position of executive vice president of the company’s distillery … READ MORE »

Soyfoods top

Soyfoods May Reduce Risk of Heart Attack by 15-20 Percent: Newly Published Research Review Soy protein-rich foods, when consumed each day as part of a healthy lifestyle, can reduce the risk of heart attack by 15 to 20 per cent, according to leading world experts on soy foods who met in Los Angeles this week to … READ MORE »

Soyfood Intake May Be Associated with Decreased Breast Cancer Risk: Chinese Meta-Analysis According to a study from Suzhou, People’s Republic of China, "Many studies have suggested that the intake of soy products may protect against the occurrence of breast cancer because of the considerable amount of … READ MORE »

Hands-On Course on Food Proteins in Europe to Be Hosted by ProSoy in April MORE

The Most Powerful Chef in America: Dan Coudreaut of McDonald's Makes Decisions Affecting Millions of Diners -- and the Edamame Industry Dan Coudreaut doesn’t host his own show on the Food Network, nor does he have the celebrity recognition of a Wolfgang Puck or Mario Batali. Yet he is perhaps the country’s most influential … READ MORE »

Failures in Functional Foods: New Report The functional foods market is a highly complex one. Success with a new product or ingredient in this harsh and demanding market is very rare. In fact, failure is far more common than success and most products sell on a niche … READ MORE »

ASA Supports Legislation to Bolster McGovern-Dole International Program that Feeds Children in Developing Countries The American Soybean Association today praised new legislation to reauthorize the important George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition program. "Adding high-protein soy is a simple and … READ MORE »

Gardenburger and Veg Advantage Team Up to Give Away 'School Lunchroom Makeovers' With childhood obesity on the rise, Gardenburger and Veg Advantage -- a national nonprofit organization that helps foodservice professionals add healthier and vegetarian options to their school menus -- have partnered to take … READ MORE »