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November 11, 2009
· DuPont bests rival Monsanto for ag market share
· California governor signs $11B water bond plan
· ‘Tanks to Tractors’ helps veterans find ag careers
· Many still question the safety of bagged spinach
· Rare mushroom collection returns home to China
DuPont bests rival Monsanto for ag market share
(Bloomberg) -- Monsanto Co., reeling from its first market-share losses to DuPont Co. in a decade, may be losing the confidence of some investors based on early results from the new modified seeds it’s counting on to beat competitors.
DuPont, the second-biggest seed maker, grabbed
Monsanto Chief Executive Officer Hugh Grant is counting on the new soy and corn varieties to add $1 billion to profit by 2012. A survey of growers early in the harvest now under way indicates the seeds aren’t meeting yield expectations, contributing to an 11 percent decline in Monsanto’s shares the week the results were circulated.
“The distrust that could be building in the market is very negative for Monsanto,” Paul Baiocchi, a senior market strategist at Delta Global Advisors, which manages $1.5 billion, including Monsanto shares, said in a telephone interview from San Francisco.
The new soybeans, known as Roundup Ready 2 Yield, boosted yields 7.3 percent, St. Louis-based Monsanto said today in a presentation. That’s at the low end of the company’s prior forecasts for a 7 percent to 11 percent gain.
The new soybeans were planted on 1.5 million acres in their first year on the market and will be on as many as 10 million acres in 2010, a 2 million acre increase from previous plans, Monsanto said. They cost growers $74 an acre, 42 percent more than the earlier product.
Farmers’ Expectations
About 20 farm managers and seed distributors in five states said in a report released Oct. 27 that yields from the new soybean seeds didn’t meet their expectations, said Jon Gates, research director at OTR Global, the research firm that conducted the study.
“The initial performance here is not meeting the expectation in a pretty broad area,” Gates said in a telephone interview.
Monsanto argues OTR’s research is flawed because of the small sample size and because half of the soybean crop hasn’t been harvested, Brett Begemann, Monsanto’s executive vice president of seeds and traits, said in a telephone interview.
‘Dust Settles’
“When all the dust settles and all the harvest is in, I think we are going to see ourselves right in that 7 to 11 percent range” in yield improvement, Begemann said.
Monsanto will give a full presentation on yields Dec. 8, he said.
Investors sent Monsanto’s shares to their biggest weekly decline in almost a year in the last week of October, when Purchase, New York-based OTR began sharing its findings with clients.
Monsanto rose $3.66, or 5.2 percent, to $73.66 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have climbed 4.7 percent this year.
Wilmington, Delaware-based DuPont dropped 44 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $33.76. Its shares still have risen 33 percent this year.
“Investors are now growing concerned about yield results for Monsanto’s key Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans,” Robert Koort, a Houston-based analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said in a Nov. 4 report. “Results from the field appear highly variable.”
Price Increase
Monsanto last month lowered its price increase on triple- stack corn seed to 7 percent, after earlier saying prices would gain as much as 10 percent.
The new seeds are the heart of Monsanto’s plan to grab at least 45 percent of the U.S. corn seed market by 2012, from 36 percent in 2008, and 34 percent of the soybean market, from 29 percent, Grant said in a May presentation.
Monsanto says SmartStax corn, which costs 17 percent more than the version it is replacing, will boost yields 5 percent to 10 percent. That’s mostly because the Environmental Protection Agency ruled farmers can plant 95 percent of their acres with SmartStax, compared with 80 percent for earlier varieties.
Farmers won’t be able to confirm yield claims until next year, when Monsanto plans to sell 4 million acres of SmartStax, developed with Dow Chemical Co., in what would be the industry’s biggest product introduction. Monsanto plans to sell as much as 65 million acres of SmartStax a year later in the decade and 55 million acres of Roundup Ready 2 soybeans.
‘Pretty Good’
“If crop prices remain fairly high and with Monsanto having
two new products coming out, it should be a pretty good 2010,” said Mark Demos,
who helps manage $19.8 billion, including Monsanto shares, at Fifth Third Asset
Management in
Monsanto’s forecasts that SmartStax will be such a hit are “very suspect” since customers haven’t had an opportunity to try it, said Paul Schickler, president of DuPont’s Pioneer seed unit.
DuPont gained 2 percentage points of
DuPont this year sold more double-stack seeds, which contain two gene modifications, than higher-priced triple stacks, while Monsanto sold almost eight times more triples than doubles.
DuPont still is awaiting EPA approval to sell AcreMax 1 corn seed with insect-resistant and conventional seeds in one bag so growers don’t need to plant separate fields. Schickler said he expects approval in time for spring planting.
Even with a timely approval, AcreMax 1 won’t be as popular
as SmartStax, Ben Johnson of Morningstar Inc. said in a phone interview from
“Given how compelling SmartStax is, Monsanto will be able to win some market-share momentum back,” Johnson said.
California
(AP via Yahoo! News) FRIANT, Calif. – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a far-reaching water bond intended to rebuild California's crumbling water system and fund new dams to save up the precious resource for dry years.
Yet at a time when several Western states are preparing to tear down dams rather than build new ones, the governor acknowledged Monday that he will face hurdles in persuading voters to support the $11 billion measure in November. The proposal was approved by the Legislature last week and signed by the governor on Monday.
In recent months, officials in
In the
"For decades, Californians have been fighting about
water," Schwarzenegger said. "I've heard the pleas of the people here
from this valley, I have heard the pleas of the people of the state of
The bond bill is one of five bills passed last week in Sacramento, but it will not become law unless voters approve it on next November's ballot. Aside from new money to upgrade aging canals and pumps, the landmark package includes funds to restore the ecologically fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, promote water conservation and monitor groundwater.
Environmentalists and some fiscal conservatives have raised
concerns about the milestone water deal, which also sets aside $3 billion that
can be used to increase
Among the leading candidates likely to compete for those
taxpayer funds is Temperance Flat, which would be built in the narrow canyon above
Friant Dam on the
A three-year drought, coupled with environmental
restrictions on the amount of water that can be pumped south from the delta,
have given new urgency to the debate as farmers have had to idle hundreds of
thousands of acres of croplands and lay off tens of thousands of farmworkers.
Cities, too, have been forced to ration water supplies, and demand will only
grow as
"This is one of the most fertile areas of God's green earth and it's going to stay that way because Democrats and Republicans crossed the aisle and made it happen," said comedian Paul Rodriguez, an ally of the governor's who plans to stump for the water bond on late-night talk shows in coming months. "It's going to be difficult to tax yourselves, but this is what we're asking you to do."
Still, a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently found that the proposal to build a second dam there barely meets the federal government's criteria for projects to be deemed cost effective.
The existing dam has spawned problems. Last month, the government began an ambitious plan to restore the dry river channel beneath it, releasing water flows aimed at reawakening the state's second-largest river so salmon can flourish there once again.
"It's somewhat ironic that they're signing the bill and celebrating the possibility for more dams at a place that has been such a problem for fish species," said Jim Metropulos, a senior advocate with the Sierra Club, which opposed the water bond.
State Sen. Jeff Denham, a Republican whose district lies in the San Joaquin River's floodplain, said he opposed the bill because it didn't assure there would be enough water to irrigate his constituents' fields, since the bond doesn't guarantee funding for specific dams.
"We've got to build new reservoirs now or else we're
going to see our No. 1 industry go out of business and there will be crisis in
the
‘Tanks to Tractors’ helps veterans find farm careers
(marinij.com) – Like many young recruits, Jennifer Fusaro joined the Navy because she wanted to see the world.
"It was a fluke," said Fusaro, a former
After spending a four-year tour in
"My love for gardening, which had started when I was a young adult, grew when I was in the service," Fusaro said. "Connections to the land and to a place became important to me."
Fusaro learned about the Farmer Veteran Coalition, an
organization that seeks to help returning veterans find jobs in agriculture.
The group will hosted a "Tanks to Tractors" Veterans Day event in
"Once in a while, you come across a program that combines the economic with the spiritual," said Helge Hellberg, executive director of Marin Organic, which will co-host the event. "This is a program where people can learn the skills to find an occupation they love, that is rapidly growing and is increasingly appreciated by their communities and by society."
The coalition is the brainchild of Michael O'Gorman, an
organic vegetable grower who has managed farms in Willow Creek,
"It says in the Bible to turn your swords into plowshares," O'Gorman said. "That's not just an anti-war statement. It's about young people coming back to their homes and villages and needing something to do, and it's about their community needing them."
The decision to work with returning soldiers marked a departure for O'Gorman, a peace activist who had opposed the first Gulf War as a member of the organization Farms Not Arms. His involvement with the military began when his son signed up for a tour of duty with the Coast Guard after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"The young men and women we work with have a full range of opinions about the war, just like the general public," O'Gorman said. "What we value in them is the idealism with which they went to war - that willingness to be self-sacrificing, and not to just pass things on to the next guy down the line. They stood up for what they believed in and put themselves on the line, and that's what we've all learned to respect and honor."
The Davis-based Farmer Veteran Coalition has a small staff and an even smaller budget. Yet its network of volunteers has helped a growing number of returning veterans find the information and resources they need to become farmers.
Many veterans, particularly those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, find the process of working with the land therapeutic, said Fusaro, who is interviewing participants in the Farmer Veteran Coalition as part of her graduate thesis.
"Horticultural therapy actually started as a way to treat vets returning from war that had combat stress," Fusaro said. "A lot of the combat veterans I've spoken with are drawn to this field not just as a means of producing income, but because of the perceived values of having this kind of lifestyle."
Yet organizers insist they're also providing veterans with skills that will enable them to earn a living, even during a recession.
"It is a growing market with lots of opportunities, even here in Marin," said Marin Organic's Hellberg.
O'Gorman said he's now working with about 100 soldiers nationwide - 85 men and 15 women - and that the number continues to grow.
Several Marin organizations, including Marin Organic and the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, have embraced the coalition's goals, and a few veterans have already found work in Marin farms and Sonoma vineyards, said O'Gorman, who hopes Sunday's event will help establish more connections between growers and soldiers.
"People really like our project," O'Gorman said. "They are yearning for something positive that can come out of this war."
For information, visit www.farmvetco.org
Many still question the safety of bagged spinach
(abcnews.com) – Three years after an E. coli outbreak, thought to be linked to spinach, took three lives and left 205 people sick, "Good Morning America" discovered that while the industry instituted new safety standards to prevent bacterial contamination, there are no requirements to test salad products before they get to market.
Some producers do test their products, but it is not always clear how robust those testing programs are.
The Food and Drug Administration oversees 80 percent of food
in
Currently, FDA food inspectors visit food processors an average of once every decade, even though they carry out 7,000 inspections a year.
"We have to do better," FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg told "Good Morning America." "The food safety programs at FDA have been woefully underfunded for years. There are serious gaps, and we can do better."
Leafy green producer Earthbound Farms, which was linked to
the 2006 E. coli outbreak, is nestled in
"To find out that our product was associated with a national outbreak was absolutely devastating," Earthbound vice president Will Daniels told "GMA." "In hindsight there was more that we could do."
The root cause of the E. coli outbreak was never confirmed, but groundwater contaminated by wild pigs and cattle was the likely culprit. Earthbound learned a hard lesson, Daniels said: The salad maker was forced to overhaul its food safety program.
"Our testing programs are designed to catch those contaminated products," Daniels said.
Earthbound now tests all of its salad, including baby spinach, for harmful bacteria, like E. coli, not once, but twice before it heads to the supermarket, he said.
According to Daniels, the company processes approximately 2.5 million pounds of leafy greens every week and catches about 3,000 pounds of contaminated greens on the first round of raw product testing and another 300 pounds on the second round of end-product testing.
New E. Coli Testing Standards Not Mandatory
Other salad growers unconnected to the 2006 outbreak have new standards as well.
"Because of what happened in 2006, we had to take responsibility," said Joe Pezzini, chief operating officer at Ocean Mist Farms and chairman of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Board, which developed the new standards.
The new standards include audits, monthly water tests and a 400-foot barrier between cattle and salad fields. But critics say suggesting new standards is not enough.
"What we have now is a voluntary system, which is clearly not doing the job," said Erik Olson of the Pew Health Groups, Food Safety Programs.
Citing salad recalls since 2006, critics suggest more product testing.
The FDA provides "guidance" for
"There's no doubt that FDA needs additional
authorities,"
Protect Your Spinach
Experts say that washing loose-leaf lettuce will not always do the trick. The most thorough washing will not necessarily kill all of the bacteria. Rather, consumers should remove the outer leaves and wash each leaf individually.
When it comes to bagged or boxed lettuce, make sure that the leaves are not bruised or damaged and that they are refrigerated.
If the package says "pre-washed," "triple washed" or "ready to eat," avoid the temptation to wash the leaves again. Rewashing them could risk cross-contamination from your own hands or from bacteria in the sink or other kitchen appliances.
Rare mushroom collection returns home
to China
(RedOrbit.com) – A Chinese scholar condemned during the Cultural Revolution for moving a unique compilation of mushrooms out of China was celebrated on Saturday when his extraordinary collection finally came home.
At a service at the
Teng’s specialty was mycology at
"I think the most important part about what we're doing here today is really returning a hand to the Chinese people that was outstretched three quarters of a century ago," Skorton said at the ceremony.
During the course of the Japanese invasion of 1937, Teng
sent his most valuable samples from his national botany institution to protect
them from ruin. During World War II, the collection traveled by ox cart to
Indochina and then sailed to the
His proactive steps meant Teng was targeted during the destructive Cultural Revolution of 1966-76. Fired from his lab, he was beat physically and mentally every day. This extreme brutality eventually ruined both his health and career. He passed away in 1970 at 67 years of age.
Teng's daughter, Deng Yi, was overwhelmed at the ceremony honoring her late father.
"During that time my father was classified as a counterrevolutionary and labeled with many different crimes. The main crime he was blamed for was maintaining illicit relations with foreign countries — selling out our heritage. The reason was this collection," she said.
"So now that these specimens have returned to their home country, my father up in heaven would feel a great happiness in his heart," Deng added.
At Cornell's idea, the university meticulously separated and
shared its Fungi of China Collection with the
Zhuang Wenying, a mycologist at the Chinese Institute, applauded Teng's accomplishments.
"I think that his motivation and his actions were great things, because he saved this treasure so that we can still see and research with them today. Some of these samples do not exist anywhere else," she said.
End Transmission