Farm News, Monday December 14, 2015

DowDupont Announced in Merger Friday

Dow Chemical and DuPont officially announced an all-stock merger Friday valued at $130 billion combining two of the biggest and oldest U.S. chemical producers into DowDuPont. The deal that Reuters says could trigger more consolidation, is expected to please activist investors and generate tax savings. The merger is the start of the deal, which will soon split the two into three companies focusing on agriculture, materials and specialty products if the deal is approved. The merger faces regulatory scrutiny especially over combining their agricultural businesses, which sell seeds and crop protection chemicals, including insecticides and pesticides, according to analysts. Executives from both companies said the agrichemicals businesses have little overlap and any asset sales would likely be minor. The companies have been struggling with falling demand for farm chemicals due to slumping crop prices and a strong dollar, even as their plastics businesses thrive thanks to low natural gas prices.

McConnell: TPP Can’t Pass Congress before 2016 Elections

Striking a blow to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week the trade deal should not be sent to Congress for approval until after the 2016 elections — and maybe not until after Obama leaves office. The Washington Post Reports McConnell signaled that he was undecided on how he would vote on the deal, but he was clear that the trade pact would be defeated if it were sent to Capitol Hill next spring or summer, as the administration was planning to do. McConnell told the Washington Post “there’s significant pushback all over the place.” McConnell says he doesn’t like the tobacco dispute settlement provisions and that Senator Orin Hatch doesn't like pharmaceutical patent protection reductions. Other pushback comes from environmentalist, labor leaders and the Chamber of Commerce.

EU Producers Not Getting PEDv Vaccines

Pork producers in the European Union will not be able to fight against Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus with a vaccine. During an industry meeting last month in Denmark, one speaker suggested that PEDv vaccines likely will not be available for pork producers in the EU for the foreseeable future, according to the Pork Network. Since the spring of 2014, several outbreaks of PEDv have struck in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Outbreaks in other countries, primarily those in Eastern Europe, have largely gone under the radar. Industry leaders in the EU say bulk feed bad containing the virus likely led to the outbreaks in the European Union. A recent study in the U.S. also pointed at the shipping container sacks used to transport bulk animal feed as the likely culprit for introducing the virus into the United States.

NAFB News