agriculture

Forty signatories including ADM, Unilever and Carlsberg commit to shared soil, biodiversity and water targets under a new cross-industry framework launching formally in Saskatoon in June.

CVR Partners’ two U.S. nitrogen plants ran above nameplate capacity in Q1 as UAN prices jumped 34%, with geopolitical supply disruptions keeping the nitrogen market tight through the spring planting window.

BASF is the first of the big four agrochemical companies to build in-house fermentation capacity for biological actives, betting that supply chain control will determine market leadership in crop inputs’ fastest-growing segment.

Australia is using diplomatic channels to plug fertilizer and fuel supply gaps after the Strait of Hormuz closure cut off around 60% of its usual urea import routes.

Syngenta is spinning off its Flowers division into a JV with Dümmen Orange as it refocuses capital on high-margin core crop markets, following the broader sector trend of portfolio rationalization.

The country is building two downstream phosphate complexes worth over $2B.

A Nature Communications study reveals deep-space radiation creates a distinctive mutation pattern in rice seeds, with a newly identified transcription factor acting as a molecular gatekeeper — findings with direct implications for accelerated crop breeding and nitrogen use efficiency research.

Urea prices dropped 22% from their April peak as Brazilian buyers switched to cheaper ammonium sulfate, a structural shift three years in the making — with China’s re-entry the year’s biggest pricing wildcard.

Warnings that 90% of the world’s soil could be degraded by 2050 inspired Iranian-born musician and refugee Sousan Samadani to leave her quiet life in the Netherlands and join an international campaign in over 30 countries.

ICL’s new Indian plant supports its Growing Solutions segment expansion into a market where precision nutrition products remain significantly underpenetrated.

John Deere’s model year 2027 lineup consolidates See & Spray into a single Gen 2 platform with 4x camera accuracy, adds See & Scout free field-intelligence mapping, automates planting depth with ExactDepth, and brings factory autonomous operation to the 2730 Combination Ripper.

Aarhus University researchers identified a two-amino-acid molecular switch that can reprogram a plant’s immune receptor to welcome nitrogen-fixing bacteria, with early success in barley hinting at a path toward self-fertilizing wheat, maize, and rice.

Record temperatures and disrupted fertilizer imports raise concerns about rice and coarse grain production for the 2026 kharif season.

Benchmark urea spot prices have pulled back to approximately $577/t from a $714 monthly peak, but remain more than 21% above 2025 levels as Hormuz supply disruptions continue to underpin the market.

The Australian government is working with Incitec Pivot and CSBP through Export Finance Australia to bring 90,000 tonnes of urea to market as domestic prices hit 72% above pre-conflict levels.