Chicago land getting more E95 pumps, GM says

General Motors has announced 26 additional E85 refueling pumps will be added to stations in the greater Chicago area through collaborative partnerships with Shell Oil Products US and VeraSun Energy Corp. The collaboration is part of a broader, national GM campaign to boost the use and awareness of ethanol-based E85 fuel in the U.S. 

Agrium purchases Royster-Clark

Agrium the large Canadian potash and nitrogen producer has purchased 98.6% of Royster-Clark. Royster-Clark, based in Virginia is a leader in the retail fertilizer market. In Kentucky all of their locations are located in western Kentucky. Agrium already has two agriculture retail chains, Western Agri and Crop Production Services.

First vaccine made in plant cells receives regulatory approval

Dow AgroSciences announced it has received the world's first regulatory approval for a plant-made vaccine from USDA's Center for Veterinary Biologics. The company's Concert Plant-Cell-Produced System represents a new category of plant-made vaccines. Instead of using whole plants to produce vaccines, it uses plant cells in a secure, bio-contained environment.

DNA test predicts tenderness in beef

Inadequate tenderness is one of the top three beef quality issues facing the beef industry, according to the National Beef Quality Audit. In the past three years there were few options to control and guarantee tenderness, according to Jim Gibb, of MERIAL IGENITY. But a new IGENITY tool called TenderGENE could help, using a single sample of an animal's DNA

Smithfield snaps up Cook's hams from ConAgra

Smithfield Foods announced it has signed a definite agreement to acquire all the assets of the Cook's ham business from ConAgra Foods. The company has facilities in Lincoln, Grayson, Kentucky and Kansas City, Missouri. Smithfield expects to complete the deal before April 30.

Farm Bureau acquires Crop 1

Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company announced today it has acquired Des Moines-based Crop 1 Insurance Direct, Inc.

Monsanto, Cargill team up for pilot next-generation ethanol facility

Working toward more efficient ethanol production and improved co-product values, a Monsanto-Cargill venture is planning to build a pilot-scale facility at Cargill's Iowa BioProcessing Center campus in Eddyville, Iowa. It will test a system in which corn hybrids especially engineered for increased energy and nutrient levels will be combined with a novel dry corn separation technique for ethanol facilities.