Converted Organics cuts staff by half
Fertilizer producer Converted Organics Inc. will lay off half of its staff at locations in Boston and New Jersey, cutting a total of 24 corporate and manufacturing positions, the company said Friday.

Chiquita beats analyst expectations but lowers '10 view
Chiquita Brands International Inc. turned in second-quarter results that were better than analysts expected, but the company lowered its earnings guidance for the rest of the year. (CQB)

PTI purchases vacant land
Piedmont Triad International Airport officials have purchased three tracts of vacant land surrounding PTI for a total of roughly $678,000.

Bunge profit soars on fertilizer unit sale
Bunge Ltd. reported a second-quarter profit available to common shareholders of $1.8 billion, up from $293 million a year earlier, thanks to a $2.4 billion gain from the $3.5 billion sale of its Brazilian fertilizer business. (BG)

SJ Water Q2 profit rises slightly, revenue dips
SJW Corp. late Wednesday reported second quarter net income of $4.5 million, or 24 cents a share, up slightly from $4.4 million, or 23 cents a share in the same period last year. (SJW)

Schwan's has two division presidents leave, one join
There’s a management shakeup going on at Schwan Food Co., with two top executives leaving the company in recent weeks and a new one joining the firm.

Blue Diamond pegs Schwan exec to replace Youngdahl
Blue Diamond Growers’ Board of Directors has selected Mark Jansen as the company’s new president and chief executive officer.

U of M to start company based on atrazine water treatment
The University of Minnesota on Thursday plans to announce a startup company that will use new water filtration technology to reduce levels of the herbicide called atrazine.

Milk and Honey Soap lands federal grant
A small business in Santa Fe has received a federal grant to help market its natural soaps and lotions.

AGCO generates $63 million profit
A big jump in sales in South America gave a boost to AGCO Corp.’s bottom line in the second quarter.

Higher log prices help Plum Creek Timber in Q2
Higher prices for softwood saw logs in the Pacific Northwest and hardwood in other parts of the country contributed to a rise in second-quarter earnings at Plum Creek Timber Company Inc. (PCL)

Kansas Bioscience Authority partners with U.S. Department of Agriculture
Kansas Bioscience Authority, at its annual stakeholders’ meeting Monday, said it would be one of nine partners with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service — a role it hopes will help propel Kansas as a national force in biotechnology.

Report: Columbus ranks 32nd for export economy
A new study puts the Columbus metropolitan area in the top third of the nation in two key export categories but is in the bottom half of another ranking.

Alabama eighth for bug infestations
Alabama is the eighth “buggiest” state in the country, according to a survey produced by a pest control company.

Lorillard 2Q earnings slip 8 percent
Lorillard Inc. on Monday reported earnings of $263 million, or $1.73 per share, during the second quarter, down 8 percent from $286 million, or $1.71 per share, during the same period a year ago.

Chautauqua County Fair kicks off
The 129th Chautauqua County Fair gets underway Monday in Dunkirk.

Part of Chautauqua is in drought
The western third of Chautauqua County is in the beginning stages of a drought -- or, at least, it was before the heavy rains that hit the region over the weekend.

Potato, potahto? ‘Loaded’ language draws General Mills lawsuit
General Mills Inc. has filed a federal suit against one of the nation’s largest potato processors over a trademark on “loaded” instant potatoes.

Bovine Bonanza
RALEIGH – N.C. State University doesn’t plan on selling cheese alongside its ice cream offerings at the North Carolina State Fair, but that doesn’t mean it won’t soon be available for sale on campus.

Rice man cometh: Don Downing v. Bayer
A St. Louis lawyer with roots in the Bootheel is at the center of a bout pitting thousands of American rice farmers against German pharmaceutical and biotechnology giant Bayer AG.

Koa Ridge project’s fate nears resolution
The Hawaii Land Use Commission could decide as early as this summer whether to reclassify 766 acres of agricultural land in Central Oahu for Castle & Cooke’s proposed Koa Ridge master-planned community.