The most complete tool for marketing your business in the seed processing industry http://www.seedtoday.com Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:37:05 CST http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Univ__of_Minn_s_Winter_Nursery_Survives_Earthquake__PrairieStar_-91039.html http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Univ__of_Minn_s_Winter_Nursery_Survives_Earthquake__PrairieStar_-91039.html University of Minnesota Soybean Breeder Jim Orf received an important email on March 3, saying everything was okay with the university's soybean winter nursery plots in Chile. The email came from the Chilean Institute of Agricultural Research at La Platina. That's the home of the University of Minnesota's winter soybean nursery research station, located about 10 miles south of Santiago. It said everyone working with the research station was okay, as was the nursery following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 27. The earthquake occurred at 3:34 a.m. local time. The earthquake occurred 60 miles north/northwest of Chillan; 65 miles west/southwest of Talca, Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:36:29 CST http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Rapid_Rise_in_Seed_Prices_Draws_U_S__Scrutiny__NYTimes_-91040.html http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Rapid_Rise_in_Seed_Prices_Draws_U_S__Scrutiny__NYTimes_-91040.html During the depths of the economic crisis last year, the prices for many goods held steady or even dropped. But on American farms, the picture was far different, as farmers watched the price they paid for seeds skyrocket. Corn seed prices rose 32 percent; soybean seeds were up 24 percent. Such price increases for seeds — the most important purchase a farmer makes each year — are part of an unprecedented climb that began more than a decade ago, stemming from the advent of genetically engineered crops and the rapid concentration in the seed industry that accompanied it. The price Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:19:21 CST http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/US_Attorney_General_Expects__Concrete_Action__on_Agriculture_Concentration___WallStreetJournal_-91038.html http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/US_Attorney_General_Expects__Concrete_Action__on_Agriculture_Concentration___WallStreetJournal_-91038.html ANKENY, Iowa—Attorney General Eric Holder raised expectations among farmers that the Obama administration will crack down on concentration within agriculture, an industry where the processing of meat, milk and seed are dominated by handfuls of companies. Speaking to a packed auditorium holding hundreds of farmers on the campus of a community college here, Mr. Holder said he expects "concrete action" to come out of the unprecedented series of public meetings that the Justice Department and Agriculture Department started Friday on competition issues in agriculture. "We are looking for balance," he said. Mr. Holder, who campaigned in Iowa during Mr. Obama's presidential campaign, Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:39:59 CST http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Illinois_Seedsmen_Inducted_into_Ag_Hall_of_Fame-91041.html http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Illinois_Seedsmen_Inducted_into_Ag_Hall_of_Fame-91041.html Jacksonville, IL (March 12) -- Tom Burrus and Jon Freeman have been inducted into the Agri-Industry Hall of Fame. Their induction came Thursday (March 11) during the 31st annual Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce Agri-Industry Banquet. Burrus is president of Burrus Seed Farms, a fourth-generation family owned hybrid seed corn business established in 1938. He has worked with Burrus Hybrids for 40 years, serving previously as its sales manager. Burrus was the former president of the Independent Professional Seed Association and Illinois Foundation Seeds. He is a commissioner for the Coon Run Drainage and Levee District and in 1988 received the Young Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:53:16 CST http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/SeedSavers_Send_Heirloom_Seeds_to_Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault-91037.html http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/SeedSavers_Send_Heirloom_Seeds_to_Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault-91037.html (March 12) -- A third deposit of Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) heirloom seeds has been deposited safely into the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. Acting SSE President and Executive Director Aaron Whaley confirmed that Seed Savers Exchange has carefully selected and sent a total of 1,389 open pollinated varieties to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault since it opened in February 2008. SSE's recent deposit will help push the total number of accessions held at Svalbard to over 500,000. "Even though Seed Savers' share represents only a small portion of the total deposits at Svalbard, the organization's contribution is unique Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:43:41 CST http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/AgVenture_of_Western_Iowa_Hires_AgVenture_Yield_Specialists___-91035.html http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/AgVenture_of_Western_Iowa_Hires_AgVenture_Yield_Specialists___-91035.html Kentland, IN (March 12, 2010) -- Growers across Western Iowa are rapidly adopting a new set of tools, practices, genetics and technologies that combined, are rapidly advancing their profitability. “It’s AgVenture’s Maximum Profit System (MPS) that is truly changing the face of farming in Western Iowa.” That’s according to AgVenture of Western Iowa Sales Manager Mike Bieret. Based at Lake City, Iowa, he reports, “MPS has made a notable and positive difference for our growers, and it has helped our company grow at an exponential rate.”To accommodate the rapid adoption and acceptance of the MPS system across the Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:35:36 CST http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Limagrain_Recruits_OSU_Wheat_Breeder-91032.html http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Limagrain_Recruits_OSU_Wheat_Breeder-91032.html Jim Peterson (OSU Photo by Lynn Ketchum) Corvallis, OR (March 12) -- Jim Peterson, Oregon's wheat breeder and the leader of Oregon State University's wheat variety development program, has accepted a position as the vice president of research with Limagrain Cereal Seeds. Peterson will start on May 1 but will work part time at OSU through July 31 to facilitate the program’s transition. In his new job, he will help Limagrain build a North American wheat breeding and seed program, which will be headquartered in Fort Collins, Colo. Limagrain Cereal Seeds is the newest subsidiary in the Limagrain group, which is a Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:03:45 CST http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Monsanto_Welcomes_Opportunity_to_Participate_in_DOJ_USDA_Workshop-91024.html http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Monsanto_Welcomes_Opportunity_to_Participate_in_DOJ_USDA_Workshop-91024.html St. Louis (March 12, 2010) -- As part of today’s first joint public workshop exploring competition issues in the agriculture industry, Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) will participate in a panel discussion about the past, present and future of the seed and trait industry. The joint workshop, organized by the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, represents an opportunity for Monsanto to offer its perspective on the importance of investment and innovation in agriculture and the valuable role that U.S. farmers are playing in meeting the world’s growing needs. “Monsanto expects the workshop to highlight a diverse set of Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:54:07 CST http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Monsanto_Faces_Fight_as_Probes_Bolster_Critics__StLouisPostDispatch_-91023.html http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Monsanto_Faces_Fight_as_Probes_Bolster_Critics__StLouisPostDispatch_-91023.html Monsanto Faces Fight as Probes Bolster Critics St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) -- March 11, 2010 -- As the world's largest seed company, Monsanto Co. has been branded a bully before. PAID ADVERTISEMENT Related CategoriesSeeds and CommoditiesUsually, the company dismisses such criticism as ax-grinding by activists or others who are opposed to its genetically modified seeds. These days, however, Monsanto has a bigger fight on its hands: a civil antitrust lawsuit by DuPont, the parent of archrival Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., and parallel antitrust investigations by the Justice Department as well as several states, including Iowa. The government investigations are thought to focus on the Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:45:15 CST http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Monsanto_s_Seed_Patents_May_Trump_Antitrust_Claims__Bloomberg_-91021.html http://www.seedtoday.com/articles/Monsanto_s_Seed_Patents_May_Trump_Antitrust_Claims__Bloomberg_-91021.html Seed patents may trump antitrust claims (Bloomberg) -- Monsanto Co., facing antitrust probes into its genetically modified seeds, may benefit from previous court rulings in which intellectual property rights trumped competition concerns, antitrust lawyers say. The Department of Justice and seven state attorneys general are investigating whether the world’s largest seed company is using gene licenses to keep competing technologies off the market. At issue is how the St. Louis-based company sells and licenses its patented trait that allows farmers to kill weeds with Roundup herbicide while leaving crops unharmed. The company’s Roundup Ready gene was in 93 percent of U.S.