Germany’s Bayer AG has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a group of Texas rice growers over claims the company’s experimental biotech rice contaminated the U. S. supply four years ago and decimated exports. Bayer said it had agreed to pay $290,000 to settle the case, involving eight plaintiffs from three farming operations. The
Bayer Settles U. S. Rice Contamination Case
FDIC Chair Warns Of Possible U. S. Farmland “Bubble”
U. S. farmland could be the next asset bubble at risk for bursting, a leading banking regulator said Oct. 18. Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said it was important to monitor U. S. farmland values for signs of instability like the price bubbles in the housing and stock markets that burst
Monsanto Counters Criticism Of Low Yields
Monsanto on Sept. 15 said early harvest data showed some of its corn seed products planted on U. S. farms outyielding competition, a bright spot for a company beseiged by a range of competitive and legal pressures. Monsanto announced the data a day after rival DuPont said it was gaining market share in U. S.
Sugar Beet Ruling Pressures USDA GMO Oversight – for Sep. 9, 2010
Proponents of tighter U. S. oversight of biotech crops say a court-ordered ban on genetically modified sugar beets is a key ruling that should lead to more thorough regulatory review of such crops. And they threatened further court action against the U. S. Department of Agriculture if the agency does not start examining the environmental
Water Crisis Seen Big Threat To U. S. West, South – for Jul. 29, 2010
One-third of U. S. counties are facing a high risk that future water demand will outstrip supplies, spelling potential disaster for central and southern states and the crops grown there, a new study says. Persistently parched grasslands, withering wheat and corn crops, and strained city utilities are a growing probability for 14 states seen at
Monsanto, BASF Increase Research Investment
“The yield increases that we have achieved together in the field so far give us confidence that we can do more in our collaboration crops, which now include wheat.” – PETER ECKES, BASF PLANT SCIENCE PRESIDENT Monsanto Co. and BASF said July 7 they will nearly double their investments into an already established joint venture
Monsanto Soybean Seed Pricing Under Scrutiny
“My office is concerned that West Virginia farmers are paying much higher prices for soybeans with the Roundup Ready 2 trait when the yields do not live up to the claims and do not justify the increased prices.” – WEST VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL DARRELL MCGRAW JR. West Virginia officials have notified global seed giant Monsanto
DuPont Likes EU Moves On GMO Crops
Moves by the European Union to overhaul its approval system for genetically modified crops is a “big step forward,” but it is likely to be some time before the bloc is open to widespread cultivation of key crops, a leading DuPont executive said June 8. Citing a provision of reported regulatory plans to allow EU
Monsanto Acknowledges Role In “Super Weeds”
Monsanto Co. said on May 27 it will restructure its herbicide products in an effort to help combat the spreading environmental woes of herbicide-resistant weeds, also known as “super weeds,” which many critics have blamed on the chemical giant. “We need to get in front of this,” Monsanto chairman Hugh Grant said in a conference
Monsanto Cuts 2010 Outlook
Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company and a leading agricultural chemicals company said it would “drastically narrow” its Roundup portfolio and lower prices to be more in line with generics. In addition to lowering prices for the 2011 season, the company will accelerate payment on certain distributor and retailer incentives to close out the
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