Viterra buys Gavilon
VITERRA has expanded its business with a big purchase of a US-based grains business.
Glencore-owned Viterra has bought Gavilon from Japan's Marubeni Corporation for $A1.6 billion.
Gavilon is a major bulk handler in the US as well as a significant grain exporter.
Along with its US arm it has businesses in central and South America, Europe and Asia.
Marubeni will retain some port export facilities and Gavilon's fertiliser business in the deal.
Gavilon was formed in 2008 as a spin-off from Conagra and was purchased by Marubeni in 2013.
Nutrien buys Wimmera business
NUTRIEN has purchased long-running Wimmera agronomy and rural merchandise business Tylers Hardware and Rural Supplies.
The business officially transferred to the Nutrien brand on February 1.
Tylers, set up in 1989, services the eastern Wimmera plains, with branches at Rupanyup, Murtoa and Stawell.
Nuseed win with Carinata feedstock
NUSEED has had a big win with its Carinata crop, with global fuel business BP signing a 10-year agreement to use the oilseed to make low-carbon biofuel.
Nuseed has developed Carinata specifically for making biofuel, with most of the work with the fledgling product done in South America.
As part of the deal BP will purchase Nuseed Carinata oil and plan to process or sell it into growing markets to supply sustainable biofuels.
Nuseed Carinata is a non-food cover crop that can be used to produce low-carbon biofuel feedstock that is independently certified, sustainable and scalable.
With the current focus on cutting greenhouse gases there is increased interest in biofuels.
Nuseed is currently increasing commercial production in Argentina and planning expansion programs in South America and the United States, while there is also initial market development going on here in Australia and in Europe.
La Nina persists
The Bureau of Meteorology has said the current La Nina event is persisting and is likely to remain in place until early autumn.
The BOM said climate models suggest the 2021-22 La Nina is near or at its peak, with a return to neutral El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) likely early in the autumn.
Significant rainfall can still occur as La Nina weakens, especially as the peak of the Australian tropical cyclone season is around February/March.
Oceanic indicators of ENSO continue to show a clear La Nina signal, with cooler than average sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific, and cooler sub-surface waters supporting the cooler waters at the surface.
However, these cooler sub-surface waters continue to ease, reflecting the gradual decay of the event.
Mateno Complete gains registration
Bayer has welcomed the official registration of its Mateno Complete pre-emergent and early post-emergent herbicide.
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has registered Mateno Complete, meaning it will be available for use by growers for the 2022 season.
Mateno Complete introduces a new herbicide mode of action for Australia, aclonifen (Group 32), in a complementary co-formulation with pyroxasulfone (Group 15) and diflufenican (Group 12) herbicides.
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