Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer said on Monday it had made progress seeking a settlement over claims its glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide causes cancer, after Bloomberg reported the company reached a verbal agreement on about 50,000 to 85,000 cases. The drugs and pesticides group is keen to draw a line under the legal dispute, which it […] Read more

Bayer reporting progress in Roundup settlement talks

Proxy advisers split over endorsing Bayer management
Chemical giant to host AGM April 28
Frankfurt | Reuters — Shareholder advisory groups are divided over whether to endorse the management and directors at German drugs and pesticides company Bayer, according to recommendations submitted by proxy voting firms. Bayer is due to host its annual general meeting on April 28 but the company still faces potentially huge litigation risks stemming from […] Read more
Farmers Grow Communities accepting applications
Reading Time: < 1 minute A program that gives farmers a chance to help their favourite community charity or not-for-profit receive a $2,500 grant is now accepting applications. Canada’s Farmers Grow Communities Program gives out two grants in each of the country’s 33 grain-growing regions each year — for a total of $165,000. Nine of those regions are in Alberta. […] Read more

Bayer reported inching toward glyphosate settlement
Reuters — Bayer has agreed on draft settlement terms with half a dozen law firms representing tens of thousands of plaintiffs alleging that its Roundup herbicide causes cancer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of the German drugs and pesticides company have come under immense pressure since […] Read more

Ag chem industry watching COVID-19’s spread
MarketsFarm –– China is a major producer of agricultural chemicals — and disruptions to production would have a ripple effect on North American supplies of crop protection inputs, such as herbicides and insecticides. Plant closures and transportation issues due to the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus are being followed closely, but the Canadian industry is reportedly […] Read more

Pressure on for Bayer CEO to fix legal problems as chairman quits
Frankfurt | Reuters — The departure of Bayer chairman Werner Wenning will turn up the heat on CEO Werner Baumann to resolve the healthcare to agriculture group’s legal problems, two of the firm’s biggest German shareholders said on Wednesday. Bayer’s shares have plunged about a quarter in value since August 2018, when the company lost […] Read more

Peach grower awarded US$265 million in dicamba drift suit
Reuters — A Missouri jury’s US$265 million award to peach grower Bill Bader in his lawsuit against herbicide providers Bayer and BASF has raised the stakes for the two companies as at least 140 similar cases head to U.S. courts later this year. A jury in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, handed Bader, […] Read more

Industry leaders weigh in on seed royalty review
'Other markets... have already moved past this'
Syngenta’s Trevor Heck isn’t choosing a route for collecting seed royalty rates — but says the federal government needs to “move forward on some type of value capture” model. “Right now, you know, if we don’t have that within the seed industry, it’s going to be very difficult to be able to get the level […] Read more

Court orders big ag firms to hand over documents in antitrust probe
Ottawa | Reuters — A Canadian federal court has ordered a group of major agriculture companies to hand over records and communications in an antitrust probe sparked by allegations some businesses tried to block online farm-supply startup Farmers Business Network (FBN). In a series of court orders issued Tuesday, Federal Court Justice Denis Gascon said […] Read more
Probe eyes possibility of ‘co-ordinated behaviour’ in Big Ag
Competition Bureau probes majors' response to FBN's Canadian launch
Canada’s Competition Bureau is investigating leading agriculture companies for allegedly attempting to drive a California-based online farm-supply retailer out of the Canadian market. Documents filed in Federal Court show Federated Co-operatives, Cargill, Winfield United Canada, Univar Canada, BASF Canada Inc., Corteva and Bayer CropScience (and, by extension, Monsanto Canada) are all under investigation. Investigators with […] Read more