Monsanto sets its sights on Canadian corn belt

Monsanto Co. and DuPont Co. have invested more than $100 million in what is now being dubbed the Canadian corn belt.

Corn, the most common grain in the U.S., previously had been ungrowable in much of Canada. But a warming climate and the development of seed varieties that mature faster is pushing the Corn Belt north,  Bloomberg reports. Farmers sowed 405,000 acres of corn in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta last year, which is twice the amount sown two years ago and eight times what it was 20 years ago.

Agribusinesses such as Monsanto and DuPont are playing close attention to the changes. The two companies have increased staff in the region and are hosting corn clinics in the area to introduce their products and are investing in research and development of seed varieties that need a shorter growing season. Monsanto has estimated that the amount of acreage devoted to corn in the western provinces could increase by as much as 20-fold by 2025.