News from the week of August 14 - 20, 2011

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

Live Commodity Prices on Soyatech.com Grains - Oilseeds - Soybean Complex - Ethanol MORE

DuPont and LANGEBIO Collaborate on Plant Growth and Productivity Research DuPont and LANGEBIO, the Mexico National Laboratory of Genomics for Biodiversity and a unit of CINVESTAV, have entered into a collaboration to increase understanding of plant reproductive biology and genetic diversity … READ MORE »

Elevators Balk at Agrisure Viptera Corn as It Awaits Chinese Approval The recent emergence of China as a more aggressive grain importer could cause some headaches at harvest. Reports surfaced recently of major grain elevators rejecting corn with Syngenta’s Agrisure Viptera trait because … READ MORE »

Biobased Products top

U.S. Biodiesel Industry Busy Cranking Out Record Volume in 2011 U.S. biodiesel production reached a new monthly high of 81 million gallons in June, according to the latest EPA statistics, marking a third consecutive month of record volumes and continuing a remarkable turnaround in which … READ MORE »

U.S. Will Invest Up to $510M in Biofuels Industry Development, President Announces President Obama today announced that the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy and Navy will invest up to $510 million during the next three years in partnership with the private sector to produce advanced drop-in aviation … READ MORE »

Petrobras, Sao Martinho Plan to Build World's Largest Sugarcane Ethanol Plant Brazilian state-controlled oil giant Petrobras and private sugar and ethanol group Sao Martinho said they planned to build an ethanol plant with the capacity to produce 700 million liters of the biofuel annually. "The plant … READ MORE »

Mexico Sees Future in Biofuels Production Earlier this month, an AeroMexico plane made an important flight from Mexico City to Madrid. The flight wasn’t notable for who was inside the cabin, but for what was inside the fuel tank: it was the world’s first … READ MORE »

Alberta Fines Western Biodiesel for Dumping Contaminated Wastewater The Provincial Court of Alberta has fined Western Biodiesel Inc. $160,000 under Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act for releasing wastewater containing methanol into the environment and providing … READ MORE »

Amyris Commissions Biobased Chemical Production Facility at Illinois Tate & Lyle Plant Amyris, Inc. announced the commissioning of its third industrial-scale facility for the production of Biofene(R), Amyris’s renewable farnesene. The production facility is located in Decatur, Illinois, at a facility … READ MORE »

Gene Finding Could Increase Ethanol Production U.S. researchers say they’ve identified a gene controlling ethanol production in microorganisms, a finding that could mean higher ethanol yields at lower costs. The discovery could be the missing link in developing … READ MORE »

Grant to Michigan State Will Develop Tools to Help Farmers Deal With Climate Change Climate and growing seasons are changing, and a Michigan State University professor is helping farmers adapt to those changes. Ask farmers if they believe in climate change and political views tend to temper their responses … READ MORE »

GreenShift Licenses Corn Oil Extraction Technology to Nebraska Ethanol Plant GreenShift Corporation announced today its execution of a license agreement with Advanced BioEnergy LLC and the successful commissioning of GreenShift’s patented corn oil extraction technology at Advanced … READ MORE »

Dynamotive and Genting Bio-Oil Explore Partnership in South East Asia Dynamotive Energy Systems Corporation announced it entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Genting Bio-Oil Sdn Bhd of Malaysia to explore cooperation for the development of pyrolysis oil market … READ MORE »

Commodities and Trade top

Cargill to Acquire Provimi in $2.16 Billion Deal Cargill will spend $2.16 billion to buy animal nutrition company Provimi, the agribusiness conglomerate said Monday, strengthening and expanding its global operations. The privately held Cargill, which is engaged in a broad … READ MORE »

ADM to Expand Grain and Rapeseed Storage Capacity in Magdeburg, Germany Archer Daniels Midland Company today announced plans to expand grain and rapeseed storage capacity through the construction of four new silos at its Silo Rothensee site in Magdeburg, Germany. The expansion project will … READ MORE »

Experts Say World Will Feel Record Texas Drought A report issued Wednesday by the Texas Agrilife Extension Service, an agency of the southwestern state, indicates that this year’s drought in Texas is among the worst on record and that agricultural production has … READ MORE »

Adecoagro Acquires Farmland in Argentina ADECOAGRO S.A., one of the leading agricultural companies in South America, announced today that in line with its growth strategy, it has acquired 100% of the common shares of the common shares of Compania Agroforestal de … READ MORE »

Africa Famine: Soaring Food Prices Intensifying Crisis, Report Warns A volatile global food supply is deepening the humanitarian catastrophe in the Horn of Africa, the World Bank warns in a new report. Shortages and near-historic prices for staples such as corn, wheat and sugar have magnified … READ MORE »

Cargill Reports Fourth-Quarter and Fiscal 2011 Earnings Cargill reported $404 million in earnings from continuing operations in the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter ended May 31, a 7 percent decrease from $435 million in the same period a year ago. For the full fiscal year, earnings … READ MORE »

For the First Time, More U.S. Corn Will Go to Ethanol Plants Than Feed Mills: University of Missouri Economist More corn will fuel U.S. gas tanks in the coming year than will feed U.S. livestock and poultry. Amid cuts to yield estimates for corn and soybeans, the USDA’s Crop Production and Supply/Demand Report projects that … READ MORE »

U.S. Crops Catching Up to Long-Term Averages U.S. farmers report conditions in corn fields down slightly but the crop’s progress toward maturity is picking up the pace. As of the week ending Sunday, 52 percent of the crop was in the dough stage, compared to 58 … READ MORE »

No Room to Increase Corn Consumption, According to University of Illinois Agricultural Economist The USDA projects that 13.245 billion bushels of U.S. corn will be consumed during the marketing year that ends on Aug. 31, 2011. That forecast is 60 million bushels below the July forecast but is 179 million bushels above … READ MORE »

Duo Aims to put U.S. on Edamame Seed Map Flip over a bag of edamame in the grocery store and you’ll probably find they came from China. Craig Altemose, with Penn State Cooperative Extension, and Taylor Doebler III, owner of T.A. Seeds, want to change that … READ MORE »

Grains top

USDA Increases Global Wheat Production, Export Projections In its August World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, the U.S. Department of Agriculture increased its 2011/12 global wheat production outlook by 9.7 million metric tons (MMT) from last month’s projection. USDA … READ MORE »

Japan Finds First Case of Radioactive Contaminated Rice Japanese inspectors on Friday reportedly found the first case of radioactive contamination in rice, adding the national grain to the list of foods harmed by the accident at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant … READ MORE »

Flowers Foods Declares Dividend The board of directors of Flowers Foods today announced a quarterly dividend of $.15 per share. This action renews the annual dividend rate of $.60. The dividend is payable on September 16, 2011, to shareholders of record on … READ MORE »

USDA-NASS to Focus on 2011 Small Grains Production There was no shortage of challenges for U.S. farmers this year as historical weather patterns brought unpredictable growing conditions to many parts of the country. Now, with the California small grains harvest near or at … READ MORE »

More Non-Basmati Rice Exports May Get Nod in India More export of non-basmati rice may be allowed to prevent a storage crisis when summer crops start flooding the market by October. The food ministry, whose recommendation is crucial to grain exports, is in favour of more … READ MORE »

Nigeria Will End Rice Imports Before 2015 Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, Tuesday, vowed to end importation of rice before the end of his tenure in 2015, saying the attainment of self-sufficiency in rice production by Nigeria was a top priority of his … READ MORE »

Ingredients and Nutraceuticals top

Soy Provides High-Performance Perch Feed: South Dakota State Research South Dakota State University aquaculture research shows soy can provide high-performance perch feed. "In human food production realm, fish production provides another option to utilize South Dakota’s agricultural … READ MORE »

FDA Reopens Comment Period for Phytosterol Heart Health Claim The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has reopened the comment period in a health claim regarding phytosterols and the risk of coronary heart disease, according to Acting Assistant Commissioner for Policy Leslie Kux … READ MORE »

Reliv International to Begin R&D Partnership With Missouri Plant Science Center Reliv International, Inc. said it will announce a new joint research and development relationship with the Missouri Plant Science Center at Reliv’s 23rd annual international conference in St. Louis later this month … READ MORE »

Soybean & Oilseed Processing top

ADM to Acquire Polish Rapeseed Processing, Biodiesel Manufacturing Company Archer Daniels Midland Company announced today another important step in the expansion of its oilseed processing, food manufacturing and biodiesel capabilities with the signing of an agreement to purchase a majority share of … READ MORE »

Bunge Acquires Margarine Business of Virginia-Based C.F. Sauer C.F. Sauer, an old-line Richmond company, has sold its Dean Foods margarine operations to Bunge North America. St. Louis-based Bunge said Friday that it will immediately begin operating the eastern Henrico County plant … READ MORE »

NOPA Crush Tops Expectations The soybean market got some friendly news on the demand side from the National Oilseed Processors’ Association monthly crush report on Monday morning. NOPA reported a member crush of 122.95 million bushels for July … READ MORE »

Ukraine's Kernel Holding Acquires Russian Oilseed Crusher Kernel Holding S.A. is pleased to announce that, in line with its acquisition pipeline issued 30 March 2011, the Company acquired a 100% interest in Russian Oils, an oilseed crusher in Russia, for a US$60 million enterprise … READ MORE »

Grain Processing Corp. Makes Three Appointments Corn-based products manufacturer Grain Processing Corp. made three notable appointments this summer. The company promoted laboratory supervisor Mike Kramer to senior applications scientist for the food, pharmaceutical and … READ MORE »

Kuala Lumpur Kepong Q3 Profits Leap 78% on Strong Palm Oil, Oleochemicals Business Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd’s third quarter profit ended June 2011 leapt 78 per cent to RM432.76 million from a year ago, thanks to stronger contribution from its oil palm division, oleochemical operations and sale of its … READ MORE »

New Method for Removing Fiber From Corn Developed by Mississippi State Researcher A Mississippi State University professor has found a unique way to remove fiber from corn and has filed for a patent for the process called Elusieve. Dr. Radhakrishnan Srinivasan of the MSU Department of Agricultural and … READ MORE »

Kulim Bhd to Expand Palm Oil Operations by Acquiring Remainder of Sindora Kulim Bhd said it will pay RM3 a share for the 23.5 million shares it does not own in Sindora Bhd. Sindora’s last traded price prior to its suspension was RM2.65 a share. Kulim owns some 75 percent of Sindora, and if … READ MORE »

Soyfoods top

Vast Majority of Americans Aware Soy Is Good for Them Says Annual United Soybean Board Survey The vast majority of Americans continue to view food made with soy ingredients as healthy, according to a survey conducted by the United Soybean Board and soybean checkoff. The annual Consumer Attitudes about Nutrition … READ MORE »

Tofu Thriving in Seattle To live in and around Seattle, and to ignore the tantalizing textures and downright deliciosity that is tofu, is a mistake you should not make. Why? Because there’s so much more to tofu than those little white cubes flo … READ MORE »