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North America

Biobased products are cost-comparative, readily available, and perform as well as or better than their conventional counterparts.

US-based SynLawn, the largest manufacturer and unrivaled innovator of synthetic grass in North America, announced that it has earned the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Biobased Product label. The product, SYNAugustine 547 Bio-Based System, is now able to display a unique USDA label that highlights its percentage of biobased content.

The following SYNLawn products have earned the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label:

  • SYNRenew with 47% biobased content.
  • SYNAugustine 547 with 19% biobased content.
  • SYNAugustine 547 Bio-Based System with 70% biobased content.

Third-party verification for a product’s biobased content is administered through the USDA BioPreferred Program, an initiative created by the 2002 Farm Bill (and recently reauthorized by the 2018 Farm Bill). One of the goals of the BioPreferred Program is to increase the development, purchase and use of biobased products.

The USDA Certified Biobased Product label displays a product’s biobased content, which is the portion of a product that comes from a renewable source, such as plant, animal, marine, or forestry feedstocks. Utilizing renewable, biobased materials displaces the need for non-renewable petroleum-based chemicals. Biobased products, through petroleum displacement, have played an increasingly important role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that exacerbate global climate change.

Biobased products are cost-comparative, readily available, and perform as well as or better than their conventional counterparts.

According to a report that USDA released in July 2019, biobased products contributed $459 billion to the US economy in 2016 (a 17% increase from 2014) and support, directly and indirectly, 4.6 million jobs.

Biobased products are cost-comparative, readily available, and

E-commerce, Start ups

CropData has recently built an e-marketplace, using the capabilities of Microsoft Azure

India based agri-tech startup CropData has recently built an e-marketplace, using the capabilities of Microsoft Azure, to empower the farmers in the country. The startup is helping small farmers improve their yields and sell directly to buyers by utilizing new-age technologies like Blockchain and AI-enabled Cloud.

The company has just launched a blockchain-enabled e-marketplace for Indian farmers to sell their produce directly to end buyers in open auctions, in partnership with UAE’s Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC). CropData is building this platform using the capabilities of Microsoft Azure to empower India’s farmers.

Sachin Suri, Managing Director, CropData, said in Microsoft blog, “Till now, farmers in India had to wait till their crops were harvested to get a sense of the income they’d make or they could go for advanced trading on an individual basis that relies mostly on guesswork. We have converted that into a scientific trade to help farmers get a better price on advance trading.”

He added, “With our technology, we connect farmers to bulk buyers on our e-marketplace, where their harvest is hedged very early in the crop cycle according to the predicted quality and yield from their farm. This gives farmers an early visibility into their income and ensures that they have the incentive to put in all the effort that goes into a crop cycle. To do that, we’ve created an e-marketplace on Microsoft Azure called Agriota that connects all stakeholders with a focus on providing utmost transparency with the use of blockchain. We have partnered with DMCC for the platform.”

CropData has recently built an e-marketplace, using

Agro chems – Pesticides, E-commerce

The company has also registered highest sale of Malathion in first two quarters and supplied the entire quantity to various institutions like Ministry of Agriculture’s Locust Control Programme and Municipal Corporations across the country for vector control programme

HIL (India) Limited, a PSU under the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers registered highest-ever production of Malathion Technical in the first two quarters of FY 20-21. Despite restrictions due to COVID-19 pandemic the Company manufactured 530.10 MT of Malathion Technical in the first two quarters of the year as compared to 375.5 MT in corresponding period of last financial year registering a growth of 41 per cent.

The company has also registered highest sale of Malathion in first two quarters and supplied the entire quantity to various institutions like Ministry of Agriculture’s Locust Control Programme and Municipal Corporations across the country for vector control programme. The Company also executed export of Malathion Technical during the period to Iran through Ministry of External Affairs on government to government basis.

DV Sadananda Gowda, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers congratulated xthe management of HIL for this brilliant achievement.

HIL is engaged in manufacturing of various Technical and Formulation grades of pesticides. Despite various hurdles due to pandemic outbreak, the company started the production activities in the month of April’ 20 with limited availability of workforce and disrupted supply chain, to fulfil its commitment to support different Government aided programmes and to supply agrochemicals to farming community of the country.

The company has also registered highest sale

AgroPolicy

To facilitate the import of onion, the government has, on October 21, 2020, relaxed the conditions for fumigation and additional declaration on Phytosanitary Certificate under the Plant Quarantine Order, 2003 for import upto December 15, 2020

The retail price of onion has shown marked increase from end of August 2020, though the price level was below that of last year till October 18. A sharp spike in prices of onion in past 10 days by Rs 11.56 per kilo has taken the all-India retail price of onion to Rs 51.95 per kilo which was 12.13 per cent higher than the last year’s price of Rs 46.33 per kg.

The government on September 14, 2020 took a pre-emptive measure by announcing a ban on onion export to ensure availability to domestic consumers at reasonable rates during the lean season before the Kharif onion arrival. While the rate at which retail prices increase had been moderated to some extent, recent instances of heavy rain fall in the major growing districts of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh had caused damage to standing Kharif crop, stored onion and seed nurseries. These developments on the weather front have resulted in sharp increase in onion prices.

The government has built up onion buffer stock from the Rabi onion – 2020. In order to moderate prices, onion from the buffer stock is being released in calibrated manner from second half of September, 2020 to major mandis, to retail supplier such as Safal, Kendriya Bhandar & NCCF and also to State Governments. More will be done in the coming days.

To facilitate the import of onion, the government has, on October 21, 2020, relaxed the conditions for fumigation and additional declaration on Phytosanitary Certificate under the Plant Quarantine Order, 2003 for import upto December 15, 2020. The Indian High Commissions have been instructed in the relevant countries to contact the traders for pushing for greater imports of onions to the country. Such consignments of imported onions which arrive in Indian port without fumigation and endorsement to that effect on the PSC, would be fumigated in India by the importer through an accredited treatment provider.

An estimated Kharif Crop of 37 LMT is also likely to start arriving in the mandis that will give reprieve to the rising prices.

 

 

To facilitate the import of onion, the

Agro chems – Fertilizers, AgroPolicy, Inputs, Machinery - Pre-harvesting

During the training scientists gave solutions to the different problems being faced by the cotton growing farmers

National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) along with CCI organised a one day farmer’s training programme in Agriculture Research Centre , Shri Ganganagar, Rajasthan.

A total number of 75 progressive farmers from Sri Ganganagar, Bikaner and Hanumangarh districts participated in the this programme. Agricultural Scientists educated the farmers regarding latest technical know how. This will help the farmers in reducing their cultivation expenses and earn a good income.

During the training scientists gave solutions to the different problems being faced by the cotton growing farmers. The officials from Cotton Corporation of India and National Fertilisers Limited encouraged the farmers to use latest machinery to  increase  production and  to improve the  quality of crop.

Dilbag Singh, Zonal Manager, NFL and Neeraj Kumar Bhat, Chief General Manager, Cotton Corporation of India gave a live demonstration on the picking of cotton by using cotton plucking machines. On this occasion, NFL also distributed 75 cotton plucking machines free of cost to the participating farmers. Bhat emphasised that the moisture in cotton crop should be kept to minimum in order to take good prices from the market.

Singh also encouraged the farmers to use the fertilisers in their crops based on soil test reports. He also stressed on the balances of different fertilisers in different crops grown by the farmers so that the expenditure on fertilisers may be curtailed and income of farmers may be increased 

Plant breeder scientist Dr Vijay Prakash gave information about the best varieties of cotton crop suitable as per the climate of Sri Ganganagar and adjoining districts of Rajasthan. He emphasised to increase the income of farmers by selecting the best suited and high yielding varieties of cotton and adopting latest technology for its cultivation. Dr Prakash stressed upon the proper crop management (which includes all the operations for cotton cultivation) to minimise the expenditure and maximise the profit.

During the training scientists gave solutions to

Agrotech

VITALA, the first global launch of a short stature maize hybrid in Mexico, to help farmers produce more while using less resources

As part of the company’s Future of Farming Dialogue virtual event series Liam Condon, President of the Crop Science division of Bayer, based out in the US has emphasized the importance of the company’s sustainability commitments it set in 2019. Condon addressed how the impact of COVID-19 and the resulting economic instability reinforced the need to intensify the focus on agricultural innovation and help make agriculture part of the solution to climate change, while continuing to ensure food security for all.

The Future of Farming Dialogue features a variety of internationally renowned speakers and stakeholders from academia, industry and media.

The company recently launched products and initiatives that highlight its commitment to agricultural innovation and digitalization, critical levers in driving a more sustainable food system:

· An industry-first, externally developed model that can measure the environmental impact of any crop protection product in any crop around the world. 

· The launch of the Bayor Carbon Initiative to help growers generate revenue for adopting specific climate-smart practices. 

· The recent introduction of a new short stature corn product in Mexico, known as VITALA. The VITALA system consists of a new hybrid maize and best practices in agronomy to help farmers in Mexico grow more using less resources. Bayer is continuing to research and conduct trials with the goal of introducing region-specific varieties in other markets that will allow farmers around the world to experience the same benefits.

VITALA, the first global launch of a

Agro chems – Chemicals, E-commerce

New Roundup PowerMAX 3 Herbicide contains a unique surfactant blend with a higher concentration of glyphosate per gallon

US-based Bayer Crop Science has recently announced the launch of its new Roundup PowerMAX 3 Herbicide in its Roundup Brand Agricultural Herbicides group.

New Roundup PowerMAX 3 Herbicide contains a unique surfactant blend with a higher concentration of glyphosate per gallon, allowing farmers to spray more acres per gallon.

Benefits of Roundup PowerMAX 3 Herbicide:

  1. With the highest concentration of glyphosate acid equivalent-per-gallon, 4.8 lb. AE per gallon, in the US market, farmers can spray more acres per gallon and retailers can optimize storage capabilities.
  2. Contains a new proprietary surfactant blend that enables fast absorption, resulting in translocation throughout the plant, including the root system, for consistent weed control.
  3. Roundup PowerMAX 3 Herbicide comes with a 30-minute rainfast warranty.

Over a three-year launch, this new crop protection product will be introduced initially in the Southeastern states in year one, with plans of expansion throughout the United States in years two and three.

New Roundup PowerMAX 3 Herbicide contains a

Trade

Agriculture, forestry and fishing contribution to India’s GDP has gone up sharply to almost 18 per cent in the first quarter of 2020-21 from about 13 per cent during April-June quarter of the previous fiscal.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing the bright spot of the Indian economy in the midst of COVID-19 has emerged as the second largest contributor to the country’s GDP, well above ’Manufacturing’ and other key sectors which suffered severe setbacks from the pandemic, an ASSOCHAM analysis has brought out.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ (AFF)’s contribution to India’s GDP, refined as Gross Value Add in the segregated set of data, has gone up sharply to almost 18 per cent in the first quarter of 2020-21 from about 13 per cent during April-June quarter of the previous fiscal. Manufacturing remained around 13 per cent in its contribution to the GVA. While other sectors are catching up fast in the subsequent quarters, the AFF remains the second largest contributor to GDP/GVA, as of now (latest data available).

AFF was at the fourth position in terms of its contribution to GVA in Q1 period of 2019-20 at Rs 4.39 lakh crore, behind manufacturing at Rs 5.78 lakh crore. 

Since all other sectors came under a severe impact of the COVID-19, the ’Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ (AFF) was the only sector which could show a positive annualised growth of 3.4 per cent, contributing as much as Rs 4.54 lakh crore during first quarter of the current financial year as per the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) data.

’’All credit to our farmers for ensuring food security during one of the most difficult times in the modern history of mankind. They deserved Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s applaud who did it in an eloquent manner, when he stated that: when the world is battling coronavirus, Indian farmers have broken last year’s production record,” Deepak Sood, Secretary General ASSOCHAM said.

Against such a challenging global situation, India’s farm sector has achieved a remarkable performance, giving a huge value-add opportunity to the processors and agri exports. For September, 2020, rice exports have jumped up year-on-year by a whopping 94 per cent to $725 million; cereals by 337 per cent to $56 million; oilseeds by 36 per cent to $69 million.

 

Agriculture, forestry and fishing contribution to India’s

Agrotech, Dairy, E-commerce

Company aims to boost sales through online and modern trade channels to achieve its good number of sales.

 Gokul, one of the largest selling packed milk and its derivative brands in Maharashtra, launches Gokul Select (Ultra High Temperature Treated) Tetra Pack milk with six months of shelf life in Mumbai to facilitate consumers buy once and consume for weeks and months. 

Available in one litre pack with facility to easily to open for consumption, Gokul Select (UHT Treated) Tetra Pack milk can be stored at room temperature safely for consumption in six months. Thus, Gokul Select (UHT Treated) Tetra Pack milk helps consumers reduce number of visits to milk vendors or dairy stores for buying milk and also safety from coronavirus (Covid-19) with regard to social distancing.

“Mumbai market is big and has huge cosmopolitan population with buying behavior shifting towards Tetra Pack milk due to high shelf life, easy to use and gives the customer opportunity to stock the product for monthly supply. This pattern has seen huge jump during Covid and lockdown times while following social distancing norms, “said Ravindra Apte – Chairman, Kolhapur Zilla Sahakari Dudh Utpadak Sangh Ltd, the producer of Gokul brand Tetra Pack milk.

 

 Apte further added that “This is the right time to enter Mumbai market as consumers are looking for more options for getting good quality milk from Gokul brand which they can stock for months, and get supply once in a month”

“Gokul eyes 20 per cent market share in a couple of years of the current 5 lakh litres of overall Tetra Pack milk market size in Mumbai. After successful launch in Mumbai  Gokul Select (UHT Treated) Tetra Pack milk will also be made available later in Pune & other metros like Delhi in addition to Himachal Pradesh and other north east regions,  Goa and Rest of Maharashtra where fresh milk outreach is difficult, said Apte.

With six months of shelf life, Gokul Select (UHT Treated) Tetra Pack milk can be used during long journey as well. Gokul plans to leverage its existing dealers and retailers for Tetra Pack milk distribution in Mumbai market. Also it aims to boost sales through online and modern trade channels to achieve its good number of sales said Chairman Apte.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Company aims to boost sales through

Agro chems – Pesticides, E-commerce, Europe

Nufarm and CROP.ZONE combines chemical and physical processes to create a compelling and sustainable method of weed control  

 

  The Australian crop protection and specialty seed company Nufarm and the German ag-tech startup CROP.ZONE have entered into a cooperation agreement. The collaboration aims for launching Nufarm’s and CROP.ZONE’s hybrid herbicide solutions across major European markets, starting with the implementation of an early adopters program for the 2021 season in Benelux and Germany from 2021 onwards. 

The innovative, patented solutions complement existing, synthetic herbicides, providing farmers a competitive and sustainable alternative for weed management, contributing to yield optimization and farm profitability while contributing to sustainability goals. 

Nufarm and CROP.ZONE combine chemical and physical processes to create a compelling and sustainable method of weed control. By pre-treating plants with an organic regulated conductive liquid and sequentially applying electrical charge, the company can control weeds with a very high degree of efficiency and lower energy consumption than conventional weeding technologies. Nufarm and CROP.ZONE offer a safe, reliable, and environmentally friendly alternative to make European agriculture more sustainable. The solution will first be made available to farmers in Germany and the Benelux countries in 2021.

 

Dirk Vandenhirtz, CEO – Partner of CROP.ZONE, said, “We are delighted to have found a strategic partner in Nufarm, which has more than 100 years of experience in crop protection and has a grown relationship with a strong network of distributors across Europe. Our solutions comply with organic farming guidelines and offer farmers a fast, efficient, and cost-effective alternative to known chemical treatments.”

 

Hildo Brilleman, Regional General Manager EuMEA at Nufarm, added that”For us as herbicide specialists, this new technology, with its broad mode of action, is an exciting innovation in crop protection that will help to make agriculture more sustainable. With it, we can offer our customers a real alternative to our proven chemical solutions at competitive prices, especially in those crops where chemical weed control options have been reduced and where alternative technologies are requested.”

Nufarm and CROP.ZONE combines chemical and physical

E-commerce, R&D

It aims to offer the breeding community a complete end-to-end solution for low-cost genotyping. 

 

 

 NRGene and Agriplex Genomics has announced a non-exclusive collaboration to provide end-to-end optimized mid-density genotyping services. This new collaboration couples NRGene’s new software solution for optimized genotyping with Agriplex’s amplicon-based technology to offer the breeding community a complete end-to-end solution for low-cost genotyping.

 

Agriplex’s PlexSeq technology is a proprietary genotyping platform based on the amplicon sequencing method. PlexSeq offers the ability to multiplex 50 to 3,500 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs – the most common DNA marker used for genotyping) in an unlimited number of samples. Their innovative Plexcall™ software then analyzes the sequencing results and compiles a concise report of allele frequencies and SNP calls. The multiplex capabilities and streamlined workflow and analysis delivers a high rate of data return at a much lower cost than other platforms.

 

SNPer™, NRGene’s new software tool, optimizes genotyping processes of any crop plant or farm animal. It enables the design of a SNP set, which is customized for every breeding project, allowing for lower genotyping data generation costs by up to 70%. Costs of genotyping can be further reduced through robust implementation of a “reverse-engineering” computational process called imputation. The recent substantial decline in genotyping costs made it possible to analyse more samples. This has led to more data being generated and thus improved the accuracy of applications, such as Genomic Selection, through the identification of winning genetic combinations to develop better yielding seeds or animals.

 

“There is a natural synergy between NRGene and Agriplex. NRGene’s bioinformatic capabilities places in our hands the DNA sequence information we require to develop a winning multiplexed assay. But the real winners are the end users, be it researchers and breeders, or producers that benefit from complete data sets at a lower cost, “said Scott Weigel, Vice President of Sales and Co-founder of AgriPlex Genomics.

 

 

It aims to offer the breeding community

Organic

The two Integrated Food Processing Units (FPUs) are being laid with a total construction cost of around Rs 50 crore

IFFCO’s Organic Joint Venture, SIFCO (Sikkim IFFCO Organics Ltd) has started its construction work at Rangpo, Sikkim. The work will be completed by October 2021 and it will start production afterwards. The two Integrated Food Processing Units (FPUs) are being laid with a total construction cost of around Rs 50 crore. 

The Foundation Stone for these plants were laid last year Pawan Singh Tamang, Chief Minister, Sikkim in presence Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture Minister. It will not only give a boost to organic farming in Sikkim but also to organic farmers elsewhere in the North-Eastern States. The global pandemic had delayed the project by few months. SIFCO will soon start trading fresh ginger through its agencies in Germany, Italy and other European countries. The entire range of SIFCO products will be 100 per cent organic certified and hence non-toxic in nature. This will promote sustainable agriculture and promote Green Himalayan Economy.

These plants will be a great step forward in doubling farmers’ income as produce will be directly procured from the farmers.

Sikkim is already recognised as a 100 per cent organic state. The aim of the JV is to provide a safer food supply chain to the consumers in India and elsewhere in the world. The JV will be initially processing ginger, turmeric, large cardamom and buckwheat. These crops are the major produce of Sikkim state with huge export potential. SIFCO will market these produce to different markets of country and world. In this regard two MoUs have already been signed; one with Blossoms Biodynamics, USA for utilising their marketing and distribution in the North American markets and other with Centar Dr Rudolfa Steinera, Croatia for marketing its products in Croatia and the European Union.

The two Integrated Food Processing Units (FPUs)

AgroPolicy, E-commerce, Organic

SIFCO will process organic ginger, turmeric, large cardamom and buckwheat 

  IFFCO’s Organic Joint Venture, SIFCO (Sikkim IFFCO Organics Ltd.) has started its construction work at Rangpo, Sikkim. The work will be completed by October 2021 and it will start production afterwards. The two Integrated Food Processing Units are being laid with a total construction cost of around Rs 50 Crores. 

The Foundation Stone for these plants were laid last year by Chief Minister of Sikkim,  Pawan Singh Tamang in presence of Union Agriculture Minister, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar. It will not only give a boost to organic farming in Sikkim but also to organic farmers elsewhere in the North-Eastern States. The global pandemic had delayed the project by few months. SIFCO will soon start trading fresh Ginger through its agencies in Germany, Italy and other European countries. The entire range of SIFCO products will be 100% organic certified and hence non-toxic in nature. This will promote sustainable agriculture and promote Green Himalayan Economy.

Sikkim is already recognized as a 100% organic state. The aim of the JV is to provide a safer food supply chain to the consumers in India and elsewhere in the world. The JV will be initially processing ginger, turmeric, large cardamom and buckwheat. These crops are the major produce of Sikkim state with huge export potential. SIFCO will market these produce to different markets of country and world. In this regard two MoUs have already been signed; one with Blossoms Biodynamics, USA for utilizing their marketing and distribution in the North American markets and other with Centar Dr Rudolfa Steinera, Croatia for marketing its products in Croatia and the European Union.

 

SIFCO will process organic ginger, turmeric, large

Agrotech, Foodgrains, Oilseeds, Pulses

Good rains have boosted sowing of the kharif crops which farmers have sown in record 1095.37 lakh hectares.

 Dr. Hanish Kumar Sinha, Head – Research & Development, National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC) has released NBHC’s First Kharif Crop Estimates for the year 2020-21. According to the estimation, total Rice production is expected to show marginal improvements in area by 6.74 per cent but production is expected to decline by 2.20 per cent than last year.

Kharif crops

This kharif season, acreage is expected to increase by 2.31 per cent but still we are expecting a 5.71 per cent lower crop size because of heavy rain is seen affecting yield of the standing crop in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka both key growers of kharif maize. Jowar is expected to decline by 1.17 per cent despite increase in production by 1.22 per cent. Bajra acreage is expected to increase marginally by 3.71 per cent but production is expected decline significantly by 14.40 per cent.

Pulses

In the pulses sector, acreage and production of Tur is expected to increase by 9.78 per cent and 5.48 per cent respectively. Urad area is expected to increase by 1.47 per cent whereas production is expected to increase significantly by 45.38 per cent. Moong is increase by 19.70 per cent whereas the production is expected lower by 3.91 per cent.

Oilseeds

Groundnut acreage expected to improve by 38.61 per cent but the production is expected significantly lowered by 14.69 per cent. Castor area and production is expected to decline by 11.51 per cent and 23.74 per cent.

Cash crops

Cotton is expected up by 4.17 per cent but decline in production by 4.06. Sugarcane area and production is expected up by 2.19 per cent and 2.72 per cent respectively

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good rains have boosted sowing of the