A member of the neonicotinoid family of insesticides and seed treatments has been pulled back from the brink of an all-out ban in Health Canada’s final re-evaluation ruling. Most agricultural uses of imidacloprid — sold by Bayer under brands such as Gaucho, Merit and Admire, and by Adama under brands such as Alias and Sombrero […] Read more
Federal reprieve for imidacloprid cuts its application rates
Proposal for near-total ban rejected in Health Canada's final decision
U.S. judge raises doubts ahead of hearing on Roundup settlement
'The last question is a killer'
Reuters — A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday questioned a US$2 billion proposal by Bayer that would create a framework for resolving future claims that its Roundup herbicide causes cancer, casting doubt on the plan a day before a key hearing. Bayer and class action attorneys hope U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco […] Read more
Bayer, Corteva in ‘two-dog battle’ over U.S. soy market
Companies' GM soybeans jockey for market share
Chicago | Reuters — Bayer is launching a new genetically modified soybean in the United States, striking back against rival Corteva in a bid to retain its dominant position supplying seeds to the $40 billion U.S. soy industry. Billions of dollars are on the table for companies producing a growing variety of seeds for soybeans, […] Read more
Triple-herbicide-tolerant soybean set for limited 2021 release
Bayer's XtendFlex soybeans pick up needed approvals
Bayer Crop Science expects to have “a small volume” of its new XtendFlex soybeans in the Canadian seed market for the 2021 growing season. XtendFlex soybeans, whose trait package is stacked with herbicide tolerance for glyphosate and dicamba as well as glufosinate, will be available in Canada for planting this spring, but not in all […] Read more
China to approve further domestic GMO corn, soy crop varieties
Beijing | Reuters — China said on Monday it was set to approve the safety of another genetically modified (GMO) corn variety and a GMO soybean, both produced by Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co. Ltd. The move comes after China last year approved three domestically designed GMO crops as safe, the first in a decade, […] Read more
Mexico farm lobby blasts ban on GMO corn
Country's organic growers welcome ban
Monterrey, Mexico | Reuters — Mexico’s main agricultural lobby on Saturday criticized the government’s decision to ban genetically modified corn, while organic growers hailed the move that should protect smaller farmers. Mexico will “revoke and refrain from granting permits for the release of genetically modified corn seeds into the environment,” stated a decree issued Thursday […] Read more
Bayer takes major writedown, flags Roundup settlement bill
Company writes down agribusiness assets
Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer is facing a double hit from a higher legal bill for claims relating to weedkiller Roundup as well as 9.25 billion euros (C$14.2 billion) in impairments on agriculture businesses, much of it related to its Monsanto deal. The company said the write-downs, driven by weaker demand from farmers due to […] Read more
U.S. EPA approves XtendiMax use for five years
Court ruling had blocked dicamba sales
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will allow farmers for the next five years to spray crops with a Bayer herbicide whose sales were blocked by a U.S. appeals court in June, EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler said Tuesday. XtendiMax, a dicamba-based herbicide that is sprayed on soybeans and cotton genetically engineered to […] Read more
Monsanto loses final appeal over French farmer’s herbicide accident
Paris | Reuters — Bayer’s Monsanto division on Wednesday lost a final appeal in a long-running French legal battle in which the crop chemical maker has been held liable for a farmer’s accidental inhalation of a herbicide. Monsanto had been trying to overturn a decision by an appeals court in 2019 that had found the […] Read more
Farmer and activist Percy Schmeiser, 89
Thorn in Monsanto's side also the subject of a new major film
Funeral services are to be held and livestreamed Saturday for Prairie farmer, businessman and activist Percy Schmeiser, best known for his ultimately unsuccessful court battles with the company behind Roundup Ready canola. Schmeiser, who farmed at Bruno, Sask., about 90 km east of Saskatoon, died Tuesday at age 89. According to Saskatchewan media, he had […] Read more
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