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Headlines 2004 - 2006

• BayerCropScience has expanded its cotton seed business with the acquisition of California Planting Cotton Seed Distributors and Reliance Genetics in Texas

• FMC  and BASF are to cooperate in the US through  new multi-year supply agreements that will allow both companies to expand their crop protection portfolios in several key crop segments. BASF will access zeta-cypermethrin while FMC will gain access to BASF's active ingredients  pendimethalin and imazethapyr

• Cheminova has acquired from BayerCropScience the global rights to the insecticide acrinathrin

• Makhteshim Agan is to increase the share of raw materials it gets from China and will reduce its dependence on European supplies in order to cut costs

• Certis Europe is to acquire the assets and goodwill of Luxan's marketing division . This will involve a number of key products including CIPC and the transfer of staff

• EU Environment Ministers have voted for the second time to refuse  the European Commission's proposals to overturn illegal GM bans in Austria

• BASF has launched a new brand identity AgCelence for agricultural products that offer growers plant health benefits beyond crop protection

• Agrovista UK Ltd, a leading crop protection distributor in the UK has announced the formation of a national fruit advisory and supply division

• DuPont is to cut 1,500 jobs from its crop protection and nutrition business and will increase its investment in seeds
  
   

Headlines from November 2006

• BASF has sold its global terbufos insecticide business to AMVAC Chemical Corporation. The business made sales of approximately €20 million in 2005

• Bayer CropScience and Cheminova have signed a multi-year distribution agreement for diflufenican mixture products in Europe

• The US Department of Agriculture has deregulated Bayer CropScience's herbicide-tolerant rice variety LLRICE601 stating that it does not pose any environmental concerns and should no longer be regulated

• United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL) has acquired the global propanil herbicide business of Dow AgroSciences.  Propanil had a total turnover of $18.9 million in 2005

• United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL) has  acquired the  European crop protection manufacturer Cerexagri for €111 million

• Bayer CropScience has exclusively licensed the rights to Senesco's proprietary gene technology for use in brassica oilseeds

• The UK has approved an application by BASF to undertake trials with a GM disease-resistant potato. The trials will take place on two sites in England, starting in 2007

• Bayer CropScience report that sales of crop protection products declined by 10.9% in the third quarter as anticipated. Sales made in the Environmental Science, BioScience segment fell by 7.8%

• Punjab Chemicals  & Crop Protection along with its European subsidiary SD Agchem is to buy  the Argentinian manufacturer Sintesis Quimica

• Makhteshim Agan reports that its third quarter profit fell 48% compared to 2005   due to declining sales in Latin America

• Makhteshim Agan  has acquired Agrovita a distribution company in the Czech Republic and has established its own distribution organisation in Russia

• American Vanguard Corporation  reports that its net sales for the first nine months of 2006 rose 8% to $138.7 million compared to the same period in 2005

Headlines from October 2006

• Syngenta obtains first registrations approvals for its new fungicide Revus in Europe (Austria) and Asia (South Korea)

• FMC and Nufarm announce a new distribution agreement in Canada

• Three Chinese companies were thrown out of the  BCPC’s Crop Science and Technology Exhibition held in Glasgow, UK after notices were served by lawyers on exhibitors promoting compounds protected under UK patents

• BASF has launched a a new farm-applied liquid fungicide seed treatment Charter PB  (triticonazole) in the US to control Fusarium and other seed borne diseases in wheat and barley

• SynTech Research has established an exclusive strategic alliance with AgroFile, a contract research organisation in Portugal

• European crop protection industry announces start of anti-counterfeit and illegal trade campaign at the BCPC Crop Science & Technology Event in Glasgow

• FMC and Dow AgroSciences  have entered into a long-term supply agreement, whereby both companies  market pre-mixes based on  cloransulam-methyl and sulfentrazone for for weed control in soybeans

• Syngenta's corn rootworm trait, Agrisure RW, has received regulatory approval from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• United Phosphorus is to acquire DuPont's bensulfuron-methyl product portfolio, which includes Londax, a leading rice herbicide.

• Syngenta's sales at $6.61bn were for the first nine months 1% lower (at constant exchange rates) than in 2005

Headlines from September 2006

• Global crop protection sales for the first half  of 2006 totalled $17.4 billion, down 4.7% on 2005

• US EPA grants non-expiring registration for Monsanto's Bollard II cotton technology

• Dow AgroSciences is to supply DuPont with acetochlor and acetochlor plus atrazine premix herbicides for preemergence use in corn

• Bayer CropScience is to increase its research budget to 750 million by 2015. This includes a budget for BioScience that will grow from $80 million per year to more than $200 in 2015

• Gowan is to market the Nissan herbicide Yukon (halosulfuron-methyl + dicamba) for the control of broad-leaved weeds in sugar cane, corn and sorghum in the US

• Syngenta  is to shed 480 jobs from its crop protection development unit over the next two years. This includes the loss of 300 jobs resulting from the closure of Syngenta's Central Toxicology Laboratory (CTL) located near Manchester in the UK

• CropLife Canada says that its members reported agrochemical sales of $1.33 billion in 2005, down 3% on 2004

• Nufarm to acquire Italian crop protection business Agrosol

• Mitsui Chemicals is to acquire Sankyo Agro

• Nufarm reports that group sales for 2006 were $1.68 billion, up over 6.5% on 2005

• Bayer CropScience predicts that global crop protection sales will fall by 5% in 2006

• Bayer CropScience is to expand its seeds business to 15% of total sales by 2015

• DuPont is to acquire access to Bayer CropScience's products isoxadifen and isoxaflutole for use in mixtures  with its own sulfonylurea herbicides on corn

• The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted an Experimental Use Permit for Arysta's product Midas, a next-generation soil fumigant developed as an alternative to methyl bromide

Headlines from August 2006

• Bayer CropScience have reported that second-quarter sales have declined by 1.6% to €1,578 million in what they describe as a difficult market environment

• United Phosphorus (UPL) has acquired a number of crop protection products from Bayer CropScience

• Monsanto is to acquire Delta and Pine Land Company  for $1.5 billion in cash

• Bayer CropScience has received marketing authorisations for its active ingredients prothioconazole and fluoxastrobin in France Products based on both substances will be available for use in  time for the spring 2007 season

• The US environmental protection agency (EPA) has banned agricultural uses of the pesticides lindane and carbofuran

• Controversy over pesticide residues in cola drinks in India

• BASF are to introduce a number of new products in Japan

• Heat and drought reduce European crop yields

• BASF apply for approval  to conduct GM  potato trials in the UK

• Syngenta are developing a new trait for soybean resistance

• Bayer CropScience will be initiating a new programme of measures designed to achieve annual cost savings of around €300 million by 2009

• India's cultivation of genetically modified cotton is expected to double to 3.2million hectares in the next growing season as farmers opt for more transgenic Bt cotton seeds

• United Phosphorus increases its shareholding to 100% in Crop Serve, a South African holding company,with five subsidiaries all located in Africa

• Makhteshim Agan report that sales in the second quarter of 2006 amounted to $462 million, an increase of 10.9% compared with  the same period last year

Headlines from July 2006

• Syngenta has reported decreased sales for the first half of  the year, down by 1% on 2005 based on constant exchange rates. Crop protection sales were unchanged  and seed sales were 4% lower

• European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) is disappointed with the European Commission's proposals to amend directive 91/414

• Bayer CropScience is to work with  the Magellan BioScience Group on compounds sourced from marine microbials

• Dow AgroSciences is granted EU Annex I inclusion for spinosad

• Exosect and Boyut FT join forces to control storage pests in Turkey

• Makhteshim Agan has been granted registrations in Australia and New Zealand for clethodim, a selective grass herbicide.The company is the first to receive registration in in these countries for a generic version of clethodim

• Isagro and Sipcam set up Isagro Sipcam International, a 50:50 joint venture.The company is finalising two acquisitions in Latin America

• Makhteshim Agan has acquired 60% of the Italian group, Kollant, a leading company in the Italian non-crop market with sales in 2005 of $30 million

•  Nufarm Ltd has signed an exclusive option to evaluate and license Micap's yeast encapsulation technology for a range of applications in the agrochemical field
  
  
   

• Bayer and Nufarm are to enter into an agreement to expand the diflufenican market in Europe

• The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the registration of two YieldGard insect-protected corn technologies developed by Monsanto

• DuPont is launching its Maximus semi-dwarf rapeseed hybrids in Europe through its subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International

• Syngenta Professional Products is to license natural insecticide technology from the XL TechGroup

• Tawain company Sinon retains its EU duty exemption for its glyphosate

• The UK government has published its response ( to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) report Crop spraying and the health of residents and bystanders

• Luxan launches an innovative new alternative to slug pellets Delicia Slug-Lentils that reduce metaldehyde content

• Syngenta is to acquire Conrad Fafard,  a leading North American producer of packaged growing media

• Bayer BioScience gain access to Cellectis’ proprietary custom-made Meganuclease technology for use in plant research and agriculture

Headlines from June 2006

• The European Crop Protection Association launches a pan-European campaign, Sense+Sustainability, promoting the sustainable use of crop protection products

• Indian biotech company, Metahelix develops home-grown Bt cotton

• Monsanto profits surge in the third quarter

• Bayer CropScience acquires rights to FMC Corporation's insecticide discovery pipeline

• Exosect and the University of Greenwich are to develop new technology to control the rice stem borer

• Bayer CropScience concentrates production of crop protection products in Brazil on its Belford Roxo plant

• Devgen and Sumitomo Chemicals extend crop protection collaboration

• The contract research organisation SynTech Group has opened a branch office in Hungary

• Sales of crop protection products in the UK fell by 14% in 2005

• GMOs reduce pesticide usage in Brazil

• Bayer are to cut manufacturing jobs in the US

• US EPA completes cumulative risk assessment for triazines

• Monsanto's seed subsidiary American Seeds acquires five seed businesses in the US

• Study reveals possible pesticides link to Parkinson's disease

• 17 new field trials with transgenic maize and tobacco approved in France for 2006

• BASF Plant Science and the Australian research centre Molecular Plant Breeding strengthen their cooperation to develop genetically optimised wheat

• Suterra, US has acquired AgriSense from Mitsui  to create one of the largest global biorational pest control businesses

• Isagro has inaugurated its new production plant in Italy for the fungicide tetraconazole

• Resistance to the grass weed herbicide Atlantis (iodosulfuron methyl + mesosulfuron methyl) has been confirmed on 24 farms across  the UK

Headlines from May 2006

• Delta and Pine Land Company has acquired Syngenta's global cotton seed business

• Syngenta UK launches Defy (prosulfocarb), a new pre-emergence blackgrass herbicide for winter cereals

• Bayer co-host forum in Berlin  with German state of Saxony-Anhalt to draw attention to the high potential of plant biotechnology

• DuPont and Devgen extend their research collaboration on pest resistance

• Amvac sales for the first quarter 2006 increased 9% to $44.7 million

• BASF Plant Science acquires Belgian biotechnology CropDesign

• Changes to BASF's pyraclostrobin brands in the UK have bought prices down by as much as 30% for the strobilurin fungicide

• US Federal judge confirms Syngenta's right to sell GA21 corn

• Over 500 delegates from 42 different countries attend the 58th International Symposium in Ghent

• “The use of modern agricultural technologies is essential to avert the impending consequences of overpopulation,” says Dr Rüdiger Scheitza at Bayer's 2006 Science Forum in Frankfurt

• Exosect, is launching its mating disruption product Exosex CM in conjunction with distributor Biogrow in South Africa

• The European Commission has launched GMO-Compass to help consumers develop informed opinions on genetically modified food

• Monsanto's vice president Carl Casale speaking at the first Agriculture and Protein Conference held in the US discusses how Monsanto's seed and trait technologies have set the standard for innovation in the agriculture

•  Bayer CropScience introduces a new fungicide seed treatment Trilex AL (trfloxystrobin + metalaxyl) for soybean in the US

Headlines from April 2006

• Syngenta's fungicide Alto has been granted a section 18 exemption registration by the US EPA for use against soybean rust in the states of Minnesota and South Dakota

• American Vanguard is to market Bayer's Bayleton (triadimefon) in the US on fruit and vegetable crops

• DuPont and Syngenta are to form a 50/50 joint venture, GreenLeaf Genetics to out-license seed genetics and biotech traits in the US and Canada

• Syngenta launches a $100 million venture fund LSP Bio Ventures to invest in growth companies and technology start-up opportunities

• Syngenta reports that first quarter sales for 2006 were down 1% compared to 2005. Crop protection sales were up 1% and seed sales down 5%

• Rotam USA receives full EPA registration for their generic products Abacus and Lucid, both based on the active ingredient abamectin

• Syngenta has created a Plant Science Scholarship Foundation with the ETH Zurich in honour of its former chairman Heinz Imhof

• Makhteshim Agan acquires 30% of the US company Alligare, specialists in herbicides for the non-crop weed control market

• The United Nation's Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) rejects proposals to end its six year moratorium on the planting of infertile 'terminator technology' GM crops

• Cheminova’s sales declined in 2005 by 2 % relative to 2004. Sales outside of the US increased by 3%

• Arysta LifeScience to acquire assets of the  Micro Flo Company from BASF

• AEPLA say sales of crop protection products in Spain dropped 13.8%  to €541.9 million in 2005. Molluscicides  and fungicides were most affected by the adverse climatic conditions

• Bayer CropScience report that sales in 2005 were slightly lower at EUR 5,896 million than in 2004. This was due to droughts in Brazil, southern Europe and Australia
   

• Makhteshim Agan sales in the US grew 56% in 2005, reaching  $300 million for the first time

• The life science company, Eurofins has acquired two of Europe’s leading agricultural contract research organisations, Agrisearch, UK and GAB Biotechnologie based in Pforzheim, Germany

• BASF is currently working on a herbicide tolerance project and six active ingredients, including a new insecticide, which was elevated from discovery to development status in 2005

• Bayer CropScience has sold its US on-farm application seed treatment business to Chemtura Corporation. The transaction includes the sale of the Trace seed treatment product line and its formulation operation in Pekin, Illinois.

• Amvac sales were up 26% in 2005 to $189.8 million while net income grew 31% to $19 million.  Much of the growth was due to four new products, two obtained through acquisition and two through licensing arrangements

• Bayer CropScience does not expect to be able to achieve its target EBITDA margin of 25% for 2006. EBITDA margin rose to 21.6% in 2005

• Sales of Makhteshim Agan products increased 13.1% to $1.74 billion in 2005. Annual net profits increased by 25.4%

• BASF to reduce its actives to 100 in 2006 from more than 300 actives in 2000.This involves a further reduction of about 25% compared to the end of 2005

• Sales of BASF agricultural products in 2005 were €3,298 million. The division invested €303 million in research and development, an 11% increase compared to 2004

Headlines from February 2006

• Dow AgroSciences' new spinosyn insecticide d has been accepted for review under the EPA's reduced risk pesticide programme

• Bayer's O-TEQ formulation concept is set to significantly improve the activity of systemic insecticides

• Syngenta opens new technolgy centre and manufacturing site for insecticdes in China

• Insecticides India Limited receives licence from AMVAC to produce and market Thimet (phorate ) in India

• The WTO ruling backs complaint that the European moratorium on imports of GMOs, in place since 1998, reflects business protectionism rather than concerns about the health of consumers or the environment

• Chinese company Bodisen Biotech has opened its new pesticide raw materials production line which is expected to make the company one of the largest producers of mancozeb in China

• Exosect has signed individual product development agreements with the MAI group of companies in Israel (Makhteshim), Argentina (MAGAN Argentina SA), Australia (Farmoz) and New Zealand (Agronica)

• Bayer AG has restructured the corporate structure of its CropScience division to improve efficiency and competitiveness

• Syngenta's total sales in 2005 were up 11% to $8.1 billion including sales of crop protection products of $6.3 billion (up 3%)

• Dow AgroSciences extends research collaboration with Locus Pharmaceuticals

•  DuPont is to launch its own brand of herbicide-resistant corn and soybean seeds based on a new proprietary glyphosate, ALS-tolerant trait, known  as Optimum GAT

• Syngenta acquires an exclusive worldwide license to develop DuPont’s new insecticide Rynaxypyr in mixtures with its own leading insect control products

• The fungicide Ridomil Gold Bravo SC has received Federal approval from the US EPA for use on potatoes and vegetables

• DuPont  acquires worldwide rights to Syngenta’s strobilurin fungicide picoxystrobin, sold as Acanto, including access to companion products used in mixtures

• DuPont has acquired access to sulfentrazone from FMC to enable it  to introduce a new combination product  for bareground vegetation management  uses in the US

• The EU has approved the inclusion of the active ingredient clothianidin in the positive list (Annex 1) of Council Directive 91/414/EEC
   

• United Phosphorus buys the Dutch seed company Advanta for 100 million euros

• Makhteshim Agan has received US EPA approval to sell its imazapyr generic herbicide for non-crop use in the US

• Bayer UK launch two new products for potatoes, Infinito (flupicolide + propamocarb) for blight and Biscaya (thiacloprid) for aphids

   

Headlines from January 2006

• Bayer CropScience are to market Rimfire, a post emergence combination of two existing herbicides, (propoxycarbazone-sodium + mesosulfuron-methyl) to wheat growers in the US

• CSIRO, Australia signs a commercial agreement with  Becker Underwood to launch bioinsecticide Green Guard to control locust outbreaks worldwide

• AMVAC expands its international operations by setting up a new subsidiary in Basel, Switzerland

• Makhteshim Agan establishs a new company in China

• AMVAC enters a multi-year agreement to sell Lorsban 15G (chlorpyrifos) through the Smartbox delivery system in the US

• Syngenta invests £5 million in Avidex, the UK based biopharmaceutical company

• Exosect and Dow AgroSciences form global collaboration to deliver a new range of pest management applications

• The ISAAA 2005 Global Report on Biotech Crops says that after 10 years there are now  21 countries growing some 90 million hectares of GM crops

• Exosect and Dow AgroSciences form a new global collaboration to formulate Exosect's patented delivery systems with new and existing active ingredients from Dow

• Dow AgroSciences and Monsanto reach a new global agreement to establish cross licenses for crop technologies

• AgraQuest acquires Codena, a Canadian company that specialises in developing insectides from plant extracts

• Dow AgroSciences receives world’s first registration for plant-made vaccines

• Syngenta obtains regulatory approvals for Axial (pinoxaden) in the US and Canada

• The agrochemical industry in East Africa has developed a new technology to detect fake agrochemicals 

• Bayer has acquired Icon Genetics AG, a biotech company headquartered in Munich, Germany

• The European Commission orders Greece to lift ban on MON810 maize

• The Indian government will propose in the coming budget a 150% tax exemption to the agrochemical industry to facilitate growth of the extension services and to improve R&D spend

Headlines from December 2005

• BASF to supply Nufarm Americas with imazapyr for non-crop markets

• AMVAC acquires the cereal herbicide difenzoquat  from BASF in the US and Canada

• Makhteshim Agan launches generic clethodim in Canada

• Nufarm to sell imidacloprid in the US by the end of 2006

• Bayer CropScience received the first registrations for its new downy mildew fungicide fluopicolide in the UK and China

• Nufarm acquires the crop protection company Agrogen in Colombia

• Dow AgroSciences to collaborate with the University of Melbourne in research to find plant-made vaccine solutions to avian influenza

• Cheminova strengthens its presence in Australia and Colombia by acquiring major stakes in Ospray and Crop Tech

• Bayer CropScience launch their aphicide Biscaya (thiacloprid) for use on potatoes in the UK. The product is formulated as an oil dispersion based on vegetable oil

• Makhteshim Agan  launches three important herbicides for the US corn market

• Nufarm to target the new EU accession countries

Headlines from November 2005

• UK Presidency achieves EU sugar reform

• Bayer develops its position in Japan and hopes to launch 26 new ais between 2000 and 2011

• Syngenta is to build a new Seed Care Institute at its Research and Development Centre in Stein, Switzerland

• Bayer launches its new class of herbicide formulations, ODesi in Poland and the Ukraine

• Bayer CropScience, BASF and Syngenta issued injunctions against 19 Chinese companies at the 2005 BCPC conference in Glasgow preventing them from offering for sale a number of proprietary crop protection products

   

• Swiss voters approve a five-year ban on planting genetically modified crops

• New study shows that Agrochemicals are among the world's most research-intensive industries says CropLife International

• Makhteshim Agan signs exclusive global distribution agreement with Korean company SK for  En Spray-99, a product  based on mineral oil that is highly effective against mites and other pests

• Bayer CropScience is to divest prothiofos, a broad spectrum insecticide  to Arysta LifeScience for global distribution

• Makhteshim Agan obtains 31 registrations in the third quarter and reports an 26% increase in profit and an 11% increase in sales in the same period

Headlines from October 2005

• Syngenta presents a new fungicide, manipropamid (446) at the BCPC conference

• BASF has sold its global phorate business including trademarks such as Thimet and Granulox to AMVAC

• New study from PG Economics shows that biotech crops have a significant positive environmental impact on global crop production

• EPA grants approval to Dow for its Herculex RW corn rootworm protection trait.

• BASF receives registration for Regent TS (fipronil) a new insecticide seed treatment for corn in the US

• Delta & Pine Land to offer Syngenta's Avicta Complete Pak for cotton in 2006. Avicta combines insect and disease protection with nematode management

• Nufarm reports net profits are up 35% for the year ending 31 July 2005

• Dow to access Sangamo's zinc finger DNA-binding protein (ZFP) technology which it will apply to developing crop improvements

• United Phosphorus acquires Reposo, the Argentinean manufacturer and distributor of crop protection products for $11 million

• Nissan under suspicion in Japan for illegally fixing the price of glyphosate

• DuPont, Dow, Syngenta and BASF announce price increases in the US to cover the cost of high fuel prices

• Monsanto sales increase for 2005 fiscal year by 16% to $6.3 billion. A significant increase in seed and trait revenue was offset by lower sales of glyphosate and selective herbicides in the US

• Monsanto launches new educational website for weed resistance management

• BASF divests its imazamethabenz herbicide business outside of Europe to Nufarm

• Gowan adds Permit (halosulfuron-methyl) a  herbicide for weed control in corn, rice, sorghum, beans and cotton to its product portfolio

• Nufarm to launch 10 new products in the next 12 months

Headlines from September 2005

• CropLife International launches a guidance document for field trials on biotech crops

• Syngenta US introduces Agriedge input programmes for corn and soybean

• The UK Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution launches a special report on Crop Spraying and the Health of Residents and Bystanders

• Dow AgroSciences and Chlorogen to co-develop chloroplast transformation technology for crop improvements

• EU agriculture ministers fail to authorise the GMO maize, 1507 for import and processing for animal feed use

• United Agri Products (UAP) is to streamline in the US and Canada

• Nippon Soda is to establish a sales joint venture with Cerexagri in the US to be called Cerexagri-Nisso

• Bayer CropCropScience reports that sales of new products rose 50% in the first half of 2005 and should reach 1 billion euros per year by 2006

• Gowan has launched SedgeHammer (halosulfuron-methyl), a selective herbicide for controlling nutsedge in turf and landscaped areas in the US

• Bayer launches Proline (prothioconazole) for use on oilseed rape in the UK

• Makhteshim Agan inaugurate a new dedicated production facility for Rimon (novaluron)

• Syngenta and COMPO form a strategic alliance to develop and market plant protection products for the consumer and garden market in Europe

• Argentina has detected Asian soybean rust on wild soy plants in several key regions ahead of the 2005/06 planting season

• Syngenta Crop Protection launches interactive website devoted to exposing weed resistance and the promotion of weed management

• Bayer CropScience hints that it is considering the purchase of a seeds business

• Yellow rust set to be an increased threat to wheat in the UK in 2005/06

• BASF receives registration for Clearfield sunflowers in Canada

• The Croplife Foundation estimates that 18 million acres of US crops are treated with fungicide at a cost to the growers of $880 million

• Cerexagri to distribute Janssen's fungicide Penbotec (pyrimethanil)  in North America

• Kemira and the Danish distributor DLA Agro to co-operate in the Nordic and Baltic countries

• Makhteshim Agan obtains registration to sell the generic herbicide Butiron (tebuthiuron) on sugar cane in Brazil

• Bayer schedules 10 new active substances for launch through to 2011

Headlines from August 2005

• Due to difficult market conditions, Cheminova returned a profit before tax for the first six months of this year of DKK 222 million compared to DKK 331million in 2004. Total revenue was also down from DKK 2042 million in 2004 to DKK 1964 million in 2005

• AMVAC are commercialising Impact (topramezone) in North America under an agreement with BASF. The product has recently received registration from the US EPA for use on corn

• Researchers at the Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) have  completed the genetic sequence for rice

• Gaucho, Bayer's insecticide seed-treatment  has gained EPA approval for use on soybean seed to protect against soybean aphids and bean leaf beetles in the US
   

• Makhteshim Agan has reported first half sales of $933.5 million (an increase of 21.8% compared to 2004). Net profit  for the first half of 2005 was $111.3 million

• Two fungicides from Syngenta, both containing the active ingredient fludioxinil, Graduate and Scholar have been registered for post harvest use in a range of new crops by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation

• Monsanto has completed the sale of Monsanto Enviro-Chem Systems Inc. to a new company formed by the Enviro-Chem management team and an outside investor

• Bayer CropScience had a more difficult second quarter. Sales and earnings declined mainly because of the prolonged drought in Brazil and some southern European countries

• Nufarm has agreed to sell its Australian turf/specialty business, Nuturf Pty Ltd, to Hong Kong-based CK Life Sciences International Holdings for $7.2 million

• University of California researchers have identified marestail able to withstand four times the labelled rate of glyphosate

• Makhteshim Agan has increased its stake in the US company CSI  to 60%. CSI sells agrochemicals to the U.S. non-crop market

Headlines from July 2005

• Australian cotton growers are to have access  to Syngenta’s new seed treatment Dynasty (metalaxyl-M + fludioxonil + azoxystrobin)

• Australia's first food crop contamination with genetically modified (GM) material has lead to  calls for wide-ranging tests on any food that could be affected

• Arysta LifeScience is to operate in all regions under a single corporate identity.  The companies Arvesta, Calliope and Hokko do Brasil will now all adopt the same name

• Certis have launched Valbon (benthiavalicarb + mancozeb) a product for late blight control in potatoes in Belgium and the Netherlands.  Valbon is a Kumiai product and Certis have distribution rights in the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK

• The contract research organisation Insect Investigations Ltd (I2L) has formed an exclusive strategic alliance with the SynTech Group

• United Phosphorus has acquired a 100% stake in SWAL (Shaw Wallace Agrochemicals Ltd) from the Jumbo Group for Rs 234 million

• Makhteshim Agan have obtained a registration to sell a generic version of the fungicide propiconazole in Canada

• United Phosporus Ltd have acquired the Barcelona-based Cequisa. This will give the company the opportunity to expand into Southern Europe and Northern Africa

• BASF's head of agricultural products, Hans Reiners has been elected as the new president of CropLife International

• Syngenta is to further strengthen their Professional Products team with the recruitment of a new global technical manager for turf, Andree-Ann Couillard who joins the company from Scotts

• EPA in California approves Exosex CM, Exosect's codling moth mating disruption system

• Nidera has acquired  the corn and soybean seed programmes s of Bayer CropScience in Brazil. The business will now operate under the name Nidera Sementes Ltda

• Syngenta receive full approval in the UK for Amistar (azoxystrobin) on a wide range of outdoor brassica

• The protectant fungicide mancozeb, used in potatoes, cereals, rape and a wide range of other crops, has received a positive listing for Annex 1 under the EU agrochemical registration Directive (91/414)
   

• Crompton and Great Lakes are to merge to create a major new speciality chemical business. The combined company will maintain a strong position in crop protection chemicals

• Following the discovery of Bt10 in grain shipments to Japan, Syngenta are to apply to the US FDA for marketing approval

• 170 business leaders, academics and NGO representatives met in Brussels for the 5th CropLife Annual Conference to discuss the role of innovation and intellectual property in the plant science industry

• Bayer CropScience and Sumitomo Chemical  are to jointly develop the fungicide BYF1047 discovered by Bayer and active against rice blast. Both companies will hold global rights to market products containing the new active ingredient
   

• Bayer is to supply tebuconazole to DuPont in the US for the control of soybean rust

Headlines from May 2005

• Bayer UK launch new cereal seed treatments based on prothioconazole, fluoxastrobin and clothiaidin

• Syngenta has entered into a  research collaboration with Hubei Biopesticide Engineering Research Center (HBERC)  in  China. The aim of the collaboration is to discover natural chemicals that can be used as starting points for the development of novel crop protection agents

  Bayer's 'Challenge 2007' intiative aims to reach net savings of EUR 200 million per year by 2007

• The National Research Council Plant Biotechnology Institute (NRC-PBI) and Dow AgroSciences Canada  have signed a five-year strategic research alliance valued at $10 million over five years

•  Makhteshim Agan  has reported first quarter results that beat the forecasts of most analysts. The company made a net profit of $63.1 million, an increase of nearly 40% over  the first quarter of 2004.  Revenue of $517 million, was 25% up

• Clariant is to move a major share of its intermediate production for agrochemical markets from Europe to India

• CompleGen to use its XenoGene system to find targets of active compounds identified by DuPont Crop Protection

• Bayer to reduce its R&D spend to EUR 625 by 2007 by focusing on process optimisation and consolidation

• Bayer CropScience report sales of EUR 5.946 billion (up 8.4% on 2003) and an EBITDA margin of 21% for 2004

•  Bayer launchs the fungicide Nativo (trifloxystrobin + tebuconazole) in Brazil. The company expects to achieve annual peak sales of more than EUR 100 million

• European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) launches Field2Fork campaign to promote accurate understanding of residues in food

• Syngenta Professional Products is to phase out it's distribution relationship with LESCO, Inc. in the US. Branded products will continue to be available through Syngenta's nationwide distribution network

• Syngenta is setting up an R&D unit in Goa, India. It will employ some 200 scientists

• United Phosphorus, Inc., (UPI) has launched a new web site (www.upi-usa.com)

• Syngenta Crop Protection  has received Section 18 emergency exemptions for the fungicide Quilt (azoxystrobin + propiconazole)  to control Asian soybean rust in 21 more US states, in addition to Minnesota
   

• UK Advisory Committee on Pesticides  completes its seven year review of chlorpyrifos and confirms that it poses no unacceptable risks

• AgraQuest launches Ballad, a biofungicide based on a naturally occurring  strain of the bacterial species Bacillus pumilus, for the control of soybean rust on organic soybeans and other legumes in the US

• USDA to spend $1.2 million in 2005 to combat the spread of soybean rust

• Large Scale Biology Corporation (LSBC) and Bayer CropScience  have entered into a collaborative research and development agreement to investigate the plant-based expression of lysosomal acid lipase (LAL)

Headlines from April 2005

• Bayer to supply Cheminova and Makhteshim with its insecticide, imidacloprid as part of a multi-year non-exclusive supply agreement

• Makhteshim Agan buys 70% of Biomark Trading, a distributor of crop protection products in Hungary

• Corn with the trait combination Herculex I and Roundup Ready receives approval for import into Japan

• Makhteshim Agan has revised its five-year sales target upwards and expects to achieve sales of $2.7 billion in 2009 with net profits reaching 10-11% of turnover

• EU imposes an emergency ban on imports of US animal feeds unless they are proven to be free of illegal GM maize

• Crompton's Rimon has been granted organophosphate replacement status by the US EPA

• BASF announce two new active ingredients, one a herbicide close to market launch and the other a new herbicide for soybean and corn

• An all party committee criticises the Voluntary Initiative, the UK's voluntary code on pesticides

Headlines from March 2005

• Certis France launch Supreme (acetamprid) a new insecticide-aphicide for use on top fruits, vegetable crops and tobacco

• Showa Denko K.K. is to  make its agrochemical business subsidiary SDS Biotech K.K. (SDS) an independent company by means of a  management buyout

• Syngenta has launched a new  seed treatment, Avicta for cotton in the US that give protection against nematodes

• Makhteshim Agan has reported a net profit of $165.5 (up 61.1%) on sales of $1,540 million (up 30.8%) for 2004

• BASF opens new seed treatment technology centre at Limburgerhof in Germany

• Syngenta receives intellectual property protection for its corn herbicide mesotrione in China

• The fungicide chlorothalonil has been approved for inclusion in Annex 1 under EU Directive 91/414

• Icoria has licensed to Syngenta  the exclusive rights to commercially develop 30  compounds believed to be active fungal inhibitors

• AMVAC are to develop, register and commercialise BASF's topramezone, a new herbicide for post emergent use in corn in North America

• Monsanto  has obtained US regulatory clearance for its next generation cotton technology Roundup Ready Flex and anticipates a commercial launch for the  2006 growing season

• Domark (tetraconazole), a fungicide marketed by Valent,  has received Section 18 Emergency Quarantine Exemptions for use on soybeans in 28 US states for the control of Asian soybean rust.
   
• Sumitomo Chemical and Kureha  are to jointly develop  the fungicide, metconazole for sale in the US and Canada

• Subject to regulatory approval, BASF will offer Kureha's metconazole in the US for Asian soybean rust control. BASF have also obtained access to Bayer's tebuconazole for use in a twin pack with Headline (F 500)

• Monsanto's American Seeds Inc (ASI) has added NC+ Hydrids to its group of regional brands

Headlines from February 2005

• BASF sells its triforine fungicide business to Sumitomo Corporation

• A public consultation on a draft national strategy for the sustainable use of plant protection products has been launched by the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) on behalf of the UK Government 

• Syngenta has made available for public use important plant disease genome data for Phytophthora infestans
   
• Makhteshim Agan has entered into a multi-year supply agreement with Bayer CropScience for tebuconazole for the US market. The agreement will accelerate the registration of Makhteshim's brand Orius

• According to Bayer CropScience, Brazilian crop protection market has been expanding at an average annual rate of 9% (in US$ terms) since 1990

• Syngenta report that sales were up 11% to $7.3 billion in 2004 due to growth in all its businesses and across all regions

• The WHO has approved the non-crop application of Makhteshim Agan's novaluron for the extermination of mosquitoes

• Seminis completes the $1.9 million expansion of its European Support Centre in Barcelona, Spain

• The US National Corn Growers Association (NCGA)  is to participate in a field demonstration programme for ProAct (harpin), Eden BioScience's new plant health regulator

• Icoria are to screen DuPont's chemical library to identify compounds that improve crop productivity by increasing nutrient uptake and tolerance to environmental stress

• Cargill and Bayer CropScience form an alliance to produce specialty canola oil

• Investment  company Koor Industries are to sell 15.9 Million shares in Makhteshim Agan Industries for approximately $85.5 million

• Du Pont plan to increase sales of crop protection products by 36% to $3 billion by 2010, even though the global market is  expected to rise by only 8%

• European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) launches CommonGround campaign to highlight the role crop protection plays in helping maintain supply of healthy and affordable food
   
• The Philippines has given commercial approval to Monsanto's Roundup Ready Corn

• Syngenta receive approval for the use of Amistar (azoxystrobin) on oilseed rape in the UK

• SynTech establishes an exclusive strategic alliance with NTALA, a leading South African contract research organisation

• The American Phytopathological Society (APS) sets up a new online soybean rust centre

• Acquisition activity is likely to increase in the UK agrichemical industry in 2005 according to industry analyst Plimsoll Publishing

• To further develop its FiberMax cotton seed business, Bayer CropScience has purchased the assets of Associated Farmers Delinting (AFD), a US cotton seed production and processing company.

• Bayer CropScience increases sales in Latin America by 32% in first nine months of 2004

• Syngenta enters a licensing agreement with Sumitomo Chemical to develop and market a new broad spectrum herbicide

• Bayer Cropscience, Max Planck Society, Garching Innovation and Monsanto  resolve  their patent dispute by agreeing to cross license their respective Agrobacterium-mediated transformation technologies worldwide
   
• Agrium, a leading fertiliser producer in Canada, has acquired12 retail locations from UAP in South America that focus on  on selling branded crop protection chemicals

• Medicago has entered into a product development agreement with Bayer CropScience in the field of plant-made pharmaceuticals

Headlines from January 2005

• BASF's plans to restructure its manufacturing plant in Beaumont, US will result in  35 to 40 job losses

• The UK's  PSD has granted approval for the new co-formulation Fandango (prothioconazole + fluoxastrobin) for barley and wheat. There are two other co-formulations based on prothioconazole - Helix ( prothioconazole + spiroxamine)  for mildew and yellow rust infections and Prosaro (tebuconazole + prothioconazole) for Septoria and rust.

   

• Syngenta receives full registration for  Bravo (chlorothalonil) for the control of  resistant diseases on wheat in Germany

• Brazil's government is to spend an extra US $ 565,000 training producers on how to control Asian soybean rust

• Monsanto's quarterly sales are up by 7% due to  increased corn seed sales in Europe and Brazil and  higher trait revenues in the US and Australia

• Makhteshim Agan has acquired a 49%  share of  Mabeno, an exclusive distributor of Makhteshim crop protection chemicals  in Benelux and Scandinavia

• Monsanto acquires Seminis, a global leader in the vegetable and fruit seed business, for  $1.4 billion

• The EPA has granted emergency exemption  approval for the use of Bayer CropScience’s  fungicide Stratego (trifloxystrobin + propiconazole) for control of Asian soybean rust

• The South African-based Pannar Group acquires Pau Seeds from Bayer CropScience

• Cerexagri are to distribute the AgroSource fungicide/bactericide products FlameOut (oxytetracycline) and Firewall (streptomycin)  in the US in the top fruit, vegetable and ornamental markets

• Bayer launch a new cereal fungicide Proline (prothioconazole) in the UK for use on cereals in spring 2005

• Farmers in Argentina are on soybean rust alert

• Valent  is to market  Isagro's Domark (tetraconazole) for the control of soybean rust in the US

Headlines from December 2004

• Makhteshim Agan wins multi-million dollar order for herbicides to treat railways in the US

• Syngenta appoints Mike Mack , currently Head of Crop Protection NAFTA as Chief Operating Officer Syngenta Seeds

• Arysta has exclusive marketing rights in the US and Mexico for the broad-spectrum soil and foliar insecticide clothianidin

• AMVAC and Bayer cooperate to distribute Bolster (aldicarb) in AMVAC's Smartbox delivery system

• Syngenta's Callisto (mesotrione) is granted its first Canadian registration for use on corn

• EPA approves AgraQuest's biopesticide Sonata (Bacillus pumilus) for the control of downy mildew, powdery mildew and rusts

• Soybean rust reaches Missouri

• European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issues guidance document for GMOs

• Consortium of investors make  an investment of £2.7m ($5m) in Exosect

• Syngenta launches Cruiser seed treatment in the US for soybean and other crops

• Syngenta is  to use  the term Agrisure GT Advantage to refer to the GA21 glyphosate-tolerant trait and the term Agrisure CB Advantage for the Bt11 corn borer trait

• AMVAC licenses Nuvan (diclorvos) to Syngenta India

• Agrochemical Association of Nigeria (AAN) becomes CropLife Nigeria

• Advanced Biological Marketing, Ohio introduces T-22 (Trichoderma harzianum rifai) to protect wheat from soil-borne diseases

• BASF's F500 registered for soybean and corn in the US

• Dow's penoxsulam receives full EPA registration for weed control in rice

Headlines from November 2004

• Makhteshim Agan receives an EPA registration for the herbicide metribuzin

• Activists destroy 400 GM apple trees in the Netherlands

• Bayer CropScience to terminate its research contract with Icoria ahead of schedule

• CropLife America plans to create a soybean rust taskforce

• Arysta receives Japanese registration for the fumigant, iodomethane, a promising methyl bromide replacement

• US BioTec  plans to launch a line of agricultural biotechnology products for 2005. Among the first products to be sold commercially by the company will be two  specifically aimed at cotton production

• Syngenta chairman, Heinz Imhof , speaking at the World Conservation Congress in Bangkok argues that biodiversity conservation depends on agricultural innovation and scientific research

• Calls for increased research funds as Asian soybean rust is now confirmed in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida

• Syngenta to stop testing GMO wheat in Germany

• Bayer CropScience plans to launch seven  new active ingredients in Japan between 2004 and 2007

• Cheminova's revenue for the first three quarters of 2004 was up 15% on the same period in 2003 to  DKK 3190 million

• Sorex International appoints Comercial Quimica Masso as its Spanish distributor for the rodenticide, Ratak

• Arysta acquires Enzone (sodium tetrathiocarbonate) a soil fumigant from DuPont

• Syngenta lobbies EPA to retain atrazine use on maize in the US

• Arysta appoint John Killmer as global head of marketing

• United Phosphorus acquires Ag Value, a California-based supplier of crop protection products for US$37.75 million

• EU environmental experts fail to agree on approving Monsanto's GM maize MON 683. The decision now passes to the council of ministers

• The German parliament passes a controversial law laying down strict rules for the cultivation of GM crops

• German GM study shows that GM corn fields can co-exist with non-GM crops

• Monsanto forms American Seeds, Inc. (ASI), a new holding company established to support regional seed businesses with capital, genetics and technology investments

• The biotech industry's first triple trait offering based on Monsanto's YieldGard Plus and Roundup Ready Corn 2 technology will be available in 2005 through DEKALB and Asgrow

• Bayer stockholders approve spin-off of Lanxess, consisting of Bayer's chemical activities and some of its polymer business

• SemBioSys granted US patent on a production system that uses genetically modified seeds as biological factories of vaccine antigens

• Bayer Environmental Science to move its North American operation to Research Triangle Park to increase efficiency

• The U.S. Agriculture Department finds  the first case of soybean rust in mainland US

• Makhteshim Agan obtains EPA registration for the insecticide lambda cyhalothrin

• Bayer CropScience is to further reinforce its leadership position in the Asia Pacific crop protection market

• Syngenta to set up new R&D centre in Goa in India

Headlines from October 2004

• FMC launches strategic growth initiatives for its Speciality Products Business

• Paraguay approves four soybean varieties containing Roundup Ready technology for planting and marketing

• GM opponents’ theory on co-existence “exaggerated” according to new paper released by PG Economics

• Syngenta donates Golden Rice to the  Humanitarian Board to mark the World Food Day on 16th October and the UN's International Year of Rice

• Bayer CropScience cut 200 jobs at their Monheim and Frankfurt sites. The cuts are expected to affect the company's production and research and development activities

• UK report proves that organic farming is better for wildlife

• Makhteshim Agan's subsidiary Farm Saver has received a generic registration for oxadiazon in the US non-crop market

• Bayer to grow EBITA margin from 19% in 2003 to 25% by 2006 with package of efficiency measures

• UK and Australian scientists develop  new technology to control resistant pests

• Dupont and Bunge introduce new soybean oil that eliminates trans fat in food. The oil comes from a Roundup Ready, low linolenic variety 93M20 from Pioneer

• Delta and Pine Land acquires licences from Syngenta to deliver new technology on cotton. First product will be ViCot, a novel insect control trait

• The use of lindane in seed treatments is to continue in the US despite Canada's plans to stop its use by the end of 2004

• Arysta acquires the agricultural chemical assets of Monsanto's Chile-based subsidiary Moviagro

• Syngenta sales for the first nine months in 2004 were $6 billion, 8% higher than in 2003

• Soybean growers in Brazil reject rise in Monsanto's royalty

• Growing GMO canola decreases the environmental impact of herbicides by 36% according to the SCI's Agriculture and Environment Group

• Syngenta have no particular investment plans for Japan but do expect steady growth according to CEO Michael Pragnell

• Staphyt, the French  based CRO, sets up a new field development facility in Poland

• Dow AgroSciences receives full EPA registration for the 2005 market introduction of WideStrike, stacked insect protection trait, for the cotton market

• Cargill will be a participating processor of Monsanto's Roundup Ready, Vistive low-linolenic soybeans and will market Vistive oil for use by the industry

• Monsanto achieves net sales of $5.5 billlion for fiscal year 2004, up 11% on 2003. The seeds and genomic business was up 21% on 2003. Growth projections for 2005 and 2006 have been increased

Headlines from September 2004

• Dow AgroSciences and Agrisoma Biosciences to collaborate. Dow will access Agrisoma's gene delivery and expression technolgy (ACE) to use in conjunction with their plant systems

• Nufarm are to acquire 49.9% of Agripec, Brazil's largest locally owned crop protection company

• Jay Bradshaw of Syngenta is reelected as Chair of CropLife Canada

• New concerns in the US about GM grass developed by Monsanto and Scotts

• Arvesta's insecticide Clutch (clothianidin) approved for use on potato, tobacco and ornamentals in Mexico

• Syngenta successfully concludes its patent infringement litigation in China for thiamethoxam

• The crop protection division of BASF achieved EBITA margin of 21.3% in 2003, up from 16.2%, and expects to achieve 25% in 2005 or 2006 at the latest

• Prince Laurent of Belgium inaugurates Bayer's new 20 million euro plant biotechnology innovation centre in Ghent

• Devgen and Pioneer to collaborate to develop crop varieties resistant to nematodes

• BASF has 13 products in the R&D pipeline that have an annual sales potential of 1.5 billion euros

• Monsanto and Devgen to develop new approaches to control insect pests in corn, cotton and soybean

• Syngenta and Fox Paine complete Advanta acquisition with the final transfer of ownership, following all regulatory approvals

• Monsanto buys Advanta's North American canola seed division from Fox Paine

• The Central Science Laboratory (CSL) estimates cereal losses due to BYDV in the UK at £100 million in a bad year. They warn that 2004/2005 is potentially a high-risk season

• Exosect's Codling Moth Mating Disruption System gains approval in the UK

• Syngenta launches Dynasty CST (azoxystrobin + fludioxonil + mefenoxam) a new innovative seed treatment for cotton in the US

• Recent 'Which' survey in UK shows an increase in concern about the use of GM material in food production

• Reuters report that the Indian government plans to introduce a new policy in nine months time that will allow the quicker approval of GMOs

• Industry and academic leaders outline their visions for agricultural biotechnology at the ABIC 2004 Conference in Cologne, Germany, attended by over 500 delegates

• CompleGen and DuPont Crop Protection sign agreement that gives CompleGen access to a large compound chemical library for use in the pharmaceutical sector in exchange for their XenoGene assays

• Delegates from 18 countries, including over 150 leading scientists and representatives from the food and textile industries attend Bayer's Science Forum  Biotechnology in Agriculture - Shaping the future, held in Ghent

• Syngenta sells its 75% stake in chemical intermediate manufacturer, SF-Chem

• Diversa receives $300,000 milestone payment from Syngenta for identifying therapeutic proteins

• Bayer to establish a seed treatment business within its US operation that will incorporate the Gufstafson business. Gufstafson R&D to relocate to a new seed technology centre in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

• ABIC 2004 launches agricultural biotechnology manifesto

• BASF to be a leading company in plant biotechnology by 2010. Its first genetically modified plants are expected to be available in 2005

• European Commission authorises 17 different seed strains of Monsanto's GMO maize for planting in the EU

• Certis Europe launch CleanStart website featuring Kanesho Soil Treatment's products

• 2004 UK Black-grass survey sponsored by Syngenta shows 81% of black-grass populations are bad or resistant compared to 49% in 1999

• Monsanto to collaborate with Divergence to develop nematode-resistant soybeans

• Syngenta 's first termite bait, Zyrox (lufenuron) is approved by EPA

• The biotech speciality company, Becker Underwood forms strategic partnership with Northwest Equity Partners

• Website for organic seed launched in the UK

• Monsanto to sell new soybean with low linolenic acid under Visitive brand

• Makhteshim Agan acquires 50% of the US crop protection company Rice Co from Du Pont

Headlines from August 2004

• Thailand lifts a  three year ban on the growing of GM crops

• Syngenta and Delta & Pine Land enter long term technology agreement in cotton

• US launch for Syngenta's new corn herbicide Lexar (mesotrione + S-metolachlor + atrazine)

• Paradigm Genetics changes it name and corporate identity to Icoria

• European Commission approves Syngenta's acquisition from AstraZeneca of Advanta's North American corn and soybean seed business

• Brazil produces first map of coffee genome with data on 35,000 genes and 200,000 DNA sequences

• Sumitomo Chemical launches horticultural insecticide, Pleo Flowable (pyridalyl) in Japan

• Makhteshim-Agan Industries expects sales to top US$1.4 billion in 2004 and is seeking further acquisitions

• Area of UK organic production now 696,000 hectares (4% of farmland) and set to rise by 9% per annum to 2007

• Indian officials take action against significant illegal plantings of GM cotton

• First Brazilian GM cotton variety resistant to the bicudo insect will be ready for commercial sale in five years

• The European Commission has approved plans by U.S. investment fund Fox Paine & Co to acquire all of Advanta's businesses except the North American corn and soybean business

• US Department of Justice closes its inquiry on antitrust activity in the glyphosate herbicide industry. No action is required by Monsanto

• BASF signs agreement with Norak BioSciences Inc, Research Triangle Park, to use Norak's Transfluor technology for discovery of new pesticide active ingredients with activity against selected G protein-coupled receptor targets

• Monsanto to donate some soybean seed varieties to the US Department of Agriculture's germplasm collection at the University of Illinois

• Takeda to sell stake in pesticides joint venture with Sumitomo Chemical as part of move to focus on pharmaceuticals

• 2,500-page report recommends that California increase reliance on federal standards for pesticide regulation but several local action groups are contesting the proposed moves

• Four Californian counties to vote on 2 November whether to accept GM crops

• New report highlights benefits of GM cotton in Australia, which now accounts for over 50% of area grown

• Syngenta completes acquisition of Golden Harvest

Headlines from July 2004 

• Monsanto expands breach-of-contract lawsuit against Syngenta over licensing of Roundup Ready soybeans and initiates patent infringement lawsuit over GA21 glyphosate-tolerant  corn. Syngenta counters with an anti-trust action against Monsanto over its exploitation of glyphosate-tolerant technology

• Makhteshim-Agan acquires fourth largest Australian pesticide company, Farmoz, for US$25 million, through its new Australian subsidiary, Agronica.

• Monsanto's NK603 corn approved by European Union for use in animal feed

• Dow and Pioneer reveal new tradenames of latest corn offerings as Herculex RW and Herculex Xtra

• Bayer sells its 15% stake in German seed company KWS Saat AG to private investors

• Ceres, Monsanto and Pioneer transfer maize genome information to freely accessible internet site

• Bayer CropScience expects sales to grow 1-2% more than the market up to 2005

• Biotech beer, supported by Monsanto and others, is unveiled in Denmark and Sweden

• Monsanto expects sales of its GM crop traits to rise by 14% from 61.1 million hectares to 69.7 million hectares in 2004

• Makhteshim-Agan receives approval in Japan for insecticide novaluron for use in edible crops such as tomatoes, cabbage and aubergines. SDS to sell the insecticide in Japan under brand name Counter

• United Phosphorus to raise US$100 million for acquisitions

• BASF launches new seed treatment Kinto (triticonazole + prochloraz)

• Syngenta's first half crop protection sales grow  by 11% (6% at constant exchange rates) to US$3,742 million, helped by a strong performance in Europe

• Syngenta in UK initiative to use rapeseed oil for electricity generation

• Cambria Biosciences LLC enters into three-year collaboration with Syngenta Ltd to elucidate the mode of action of small molecule insecticides

• Delta & Pine Land launches three counter claims against Monsanto in ongoing dispute between the companies

• Global non-crop pesticide market shows good growth (5% per annum) according to new report, especially in India and China

• Group of 400 international vine producers declares opposition to GM  vines 

• Argentina finally approves glyphosate-resistant corn

• UK government recommended to set new rules for planting GM crops

• DuPont completes purchase of Verdia Inc for US$64 million

• Australian research casts doubt on NZ apple imports due to dangers of pest and disease risk

• Bayer CropScience drops legal action against Friends of the Earth to prevent the environmental group from telling the public how to access safety data on pesticides

• Syngenta set to transfer UK-based research work on GM crops to the USA. Some 130 jobs to go at Jealott's Hill. BASF may also move its European GM crop research to North America

Headlines from June 2004

• International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture comes into force on 29 June

• Italy's Isagro SpA increases stake in Agriformula from 63% to 100% through purchase of 37% stake held by Bayer CropScience 

• Isagro increases tetraconazole production capacity with investment in India and extension of contract with Oxon Italia SpA

• Australia's  Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) claims world first with discovery of rust avirulence gene

• Isagro SpA establishes Brazilian subsidiary in São Paolo, opens branch office in Havana and agrees to sell home and garden business to Kollant Group  

• US market for rangeland and pasture herbicides grew by 30% from 2001 to 2003 according to new study from Kline & Co

• Diversa Corporation meets all 2004 milestones under Zymetrics contract joint venture agreements with Syngenta Seeds

• Monsanto collaborates with MetaMorphix Inc to access its pig genome database for  "marker assisted" conventional breeding programme to produce tastier pork

• Makhteshim-Agan invests US$13.5 million to acquire 45% stake in Texan company, Control Solutions, which specialises in non-crop pesticide markets, with option to acquire further 15%

• Makhteshim-Agan expects sales to reach US$1,800 million and net profit to reach 10% of total sales within five years

• French Minister of Agriculture approves eight new programmes of research on genetically modified maize

• Plant science industry reiterates call to governments world-wide for a consistent and science-based regulatory  framework at CropLife International Conference

• Tasmanian fruit growers protest on the streets, concerned about  fireblight and  Biosecurity Australia's plans to allow imports of New Zealand apples

• Chinese quarantine authorities extend soybean import ban to seventh Brazilian trader over concerns about contamination with fungicide seed treatment 

• About 3% of US farms account for 62% of agricultural production according to latest USDA census figures

• Bayer CropScience streamlines management structure

• EU experts fail to reach agreement on whether to approve Monsanto's Roundup Ready oilseed rape (GT73) or NK603 corn for importation and processing

• Syngenta reaches agreement to acquire 90% share of Golden Harvest group of companies, which controls 4% of US corn seed and 3% of US soybean seed markets

• Mycogen Corporation, subsidiary of Dow Chemical, granted US patent for glyphosate-resistant cotton

• Exosect Ltd receives US EPA approval for use of Exosex CM Auto-Confusion system on apple, pear and walnut crops for control of codling moth

• Monsanto to donate US$50,000 to the Agriculture in the Classroom Consortium, an educational programme co-ordinated by the US Department of Agriculture

• Bombay representative of Dow Chemical (which acquired Union Carbide business interests) summoned by Indian court to answer questions related to compensation over 1984 Bhopal tragedy

• Rothamsted Research scientist Professor John Pickett FRS awarded CBE in Queen's Birthday honours list for services to biological chemistry

• The Arable Group (TAG) takes over ADAS Arable in the UK and its 32 staff, including 29 agronomists

• New £2.5 million crop protection research centre opened at Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI), Invergowrie, Dundee

• UK study finds that small uncultivated patches in centre of cereal crops could  reverse decline in skylark populations

• Bayer CropScience given go-ahead in New South Wales for comparative trials of GM and non-GM oilseed rape on 40 hectares but decides to delay commercialisation of its GM InVigor canola.

• DuPont reaches agreement to acquire Verdia Inc, Redwood, California, subsidiary of Maxygen (see also May headlines)

• Biobase GmbH licenses its Brenda enzyme database to BASF Plant Science

• Canadian company SemBioSys Genetics, Calgary, in agreement with Arcadia Bioscience to develop safflower varieties with enhanced oil content

• US government drops plans to allow limited use of pesticides and antibiotics in organic food guidelines

• Makhteshim receives approval from US Environmental Protection Agency for the use of the insecticide Rimon (novaluron) on apples, pears, potatoes and cotton

• Dr Stephen Moss (Rothamsted Research) highlights increasing problems of weed resistance in plenary lecture at the 56th International Ghent Symposium

• New glyphosate-resistance crop trait developed by Verdia (subsidiary of Maxygen) and Pioneer

• United Agri Products plans US$680 million initial public offering of stock and debt

• European Commission approves Syngenta's Bt-11 sweet corn for food use in the European Union

• Syngenta acquires rights to glyphosate tolerance technology (GA21) from Bayer CropScience. Monsanto disputes validity of the arrangement and starts legal action against Syngenta

• Glyphosate prices soar in Argentina as  supplies from China dry up

• Monsanto drops its plans to develop Roundup Ready wheat

• Syngenta files for registration of new cereal herbicide (code name 407) in the European Union, Canada and the USA. First sales expected in 2006

• Makhteshim Agan Industries (MAI) completes acquisition of Farm Saver group, a US crop protection distributor

• MAI receives US EPA approval for the pyrethroid insecticide bifenthrin

• Herculex I Bt trait in corn from Dow AgroSciences is granted  regulatory approval for import into China

• US EPA approval for use of WideMatch M (fluroxypyr + clopyralid + MCPA ester) in small-grain cereals

• New CEO for Arysta Life Science

• German crop protection market down by 5.5% in value in 2003 and German pesticide exports down by 16% in value

• Certis launches CleanStart  soil treatment range in Italy and Spain

• Paradigm Genetics granted two US patents on new fungicide modes of action

• Monsanto seeking to terminate its licensing agreements for Bollgard and Roundup Ready cotton with Delta and Pine Land Company,  due to unresolved business disputes between the two organisations

• Australian plant virologist rejects findings  of Biosecurity Australia report in favour of banana imports from the Philippines

• Monsanto, USDA and University of Illinois in collaboration to map location of rust resistance genes in soybean genome

• Syngenta and Fox Paine to acquire Advanta BV from AstraZeneca and Royal Cosun for EUR 400 million. Syngenta will take North American corn and soybean interests, Fox Paine the rest

• BBSRC review panel calls for UK national strategy for crop science research and more support for "public good plant breeding" (in line with recommendations in from another report from the  European Academies’ Science Advisory Council)

• Exosect Ltd, Southampton, UK, receives £200,000 grant from BBSRC to develop fruit fly control systems

• Latest developments regarding registration of agrochemicals in the European Union discussed at the IBC Life Sciences 11th annual conference on this subject (held this month in Brussels)

• Monsanto entrusts French distribution rights to its wheat herbicide Monitor (80% WG sulfosulfuron) to Sumitomo Chemical's subsidiary, Philagro

• South Australian State Government buys  $250,000 worth of organic herbicide from New Zealand company

• Bayer CropScience's first quarter sales up by 4.3% to EUR 1,732 million

• Sales of Makhteshim Agan up by 27.5% in first quarter to US$414.5 million

Headlines from April 2004 

• Syngenta's crop protection sales up 7% in the first quarter of 2004

• USDA getting anxious over soybean rust from South America spreading into US

• German giants BASF and Bayer fall out over their fipronil deal

• Syngenta receives approval for three insecticides in Hungary for control of Western corn rootworm

• Makhteshim-Agan Industries signs agreement to buy US distributor of crop protection products for US$44 million in cash and shares

• CHS Inc signs agreements to buy stake of Farmland Industries in Agriliance, LLC, subject to US bankruptcy court approval

• India approves Bt cotton from Rasi Seeds, based on Monsanto technology

• Sumitomo Chemical to merge its Belgian and German subsidiaries

• Plimsoll Publishing issues reports on the fluctuating financial fortunes of 486 French agrochemical companies and 498 UK agricultural concerns

• California vetoes Ventria Bioscience's plans to grow GM rice with human genes

• Patrick Donnelly appointed VP and chief operating officer of CropLife America

• Con-man makes off with US$200,000 of pesticides from Iowa dealer

• Wilbur-Ellis completes purchase of Hughson's crop protection and fertiliser business, also based in California

• Roundup Ready turf development in US proving controversial but could find a welcome with golf course managers

• Chemical Diversity Labs, San Diego, partners with DuPont Crop Protection for small molecule screening project

• China approves imports of GM canola

• Syngenta expands use of Geospiza Finch DNA sequencing systems

• UniPhar to acquire Ireland's Whelehan Group, including its crop protection and animal health interests

• European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) okays Monsanto's M863 maize

• New editor for Crop Protection Monthly

Headlines from March 2004

• UK Government gives approval in principle for first GM crop to be grown commercially (Bayer's herbicide-resistant fodder maize, Chardon LL), but  Bayer shelves its commercialisation plans.

• Monsanto signs definitive agreement for sale of its European wheat and barley seed breeding interests to the French company,  RAGT Genetique SA, Rodez

• Syngenta receives approval in Germany for seed treatment Cruiser (thiamethoxam) in maize, oilseed rape and sugar beet

• Syngenta takes 51% stake in new US fresh produce joint venture, Dulcinea Farms LLC, set up with Tanimura & Antle to market seedless watermelons and other novel foods

• UK Government to oppose the cultivation of GM oilseed rape and sugar beet in the European Union, based on findings from its Farm-Scale Evaluations

• Crop area of crambe (Abyssinian mustard) in the UK set to top 20,000 hectares this year as demand and prices rise sharply

• Plimsoll report highlights poor returns from UK agrochemical companies

• Sales at Makhteshim-Agan top US$1 billion

• Bayer to acquire the other 50% of Gustafson's NAFTA seed treatment business from Crompton Corporation for US$124 million in cash

• US Department of Justice extends its investigation into the activities of Monsanto's subsidiaries in Indonesia

• Monsanto sells part of its tri-allate herbicide business to Gowan Co, Yuma, Arizona

• Bayer secures US$400 million (EUR 327 million) refund on its purchase price for Aventis CropScience

• Makhteshim-Agan reports record sales (US$1,177 million) and net profit (US$103 million), with its European sales up by 50% in 2003

• European Commission being sued over its approval of paraquat

• DuPont and Syngenta commit US$1 million each to Global Crop Diversity Trust

• Restructuring of Horticulture Research International completed

• United Phosphorus takes 20% stake in South African company Cropserve

Headlines from February 2004

• Bayer & BASF facing flak over French bees

• Syngenta reports good annual results

• Spotlight on UK pesticide packaging waste

• Bayer's fluoxastrobin recommended for UK approval

• Belgium rejects GM oilseed rape

• US$56 million verdict against BASF in US herbicide fraud case is upheld 

• Monsanto wins Bt patent dispute and resolves another patent issue

• Nufarm to distribute BASF pesticide products in Australia

• Syngenta acquires Dia-Engei

Headlines from January 2004

• Chlorothalonil makes a comeback

• BASF to sell its phenoxy herbicide business (which had annual sales of EUR40 million in 2002) to Nufarm, as well as the rights to a number of fungicide products in Austria and Germany

• BASF reveals more details about its cereal fungicide, Flexity (metrafenone), and its unique mode of action against mildew

• Bayer CropScience inaugurates new imidacloprid production facility in India

• Friedrich Berschauer to succeed Jochen Wulff as chairman of the board of management of Bayer CropScience

• Changes in top management at DuPont 

• Syngenta launches Priori Xtra (azoxystrobin + cyproconazole) in Brazil to combat soybean rust 

• UK registration for cereal fungicide Amistar Opti (azoxystrobin + chlorothalonil), a new product for use in anti-resistance strategies

• Sumitomo Chemical acquires the Buihunter biological pesticide business from Kubota Corporation and streamlines some of its pesticide production

• Global GM crop area up by 15% to 67.7 million hectares in 2003, according to latest ISAAA annual report

• Plimsoll publishes report on financial status of 188 UK agchem companies

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