Reuters — Bayer AG said on Friday it has reached an agreement with plaintiffs’ lawyers to postpone a Missouri jury trial over allegations its herbicide Roundup causes cancer, to provide room for negotiations to settle the litigation. “While Bayer is constructively engaged in the mediation process, there is no comprehensive agreement at this time. There […] Read more
Roundup cancer trial postponed to continue settlement talks
Weather woes could lead to market headaches, says agronomist
Grain buyers are testing like never before, so glyphosate timing is especially critical this year
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta farmers have seen some occasionally dry, mostly wet, often cold, but sometimes sunny conditions this summer — and the all-over-the-place weather has wreaked havoc in cereal fields across the province. “When you have cool weather on top of really moist conditions, you’ll get plants slowing down that much more,” said Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research […] Read more
Bayer mediator dismisses report of Roundup settlement
New York/Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer AG has not offered to pay billions of dollars to settle claims in the United States related to the Roundup herbicide, mediator Ken Feinberg said, dismissing a report to that effect which drove its shares as much as 11 per cent higher. “Bayer has not proposed paying $8 billion […] Read more
Juror urges judge to uphold US$80M Roundup verdict
Reuters — A juror who was part of a panel that delivered a US$80 million award against Bayer AG after finding that its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup caused a man’s cancer has urged the presiding judge to uphold the decision. A letter from the juror written on July 4 was posted to the court docket […] Read more
Judge to slash US$80 million Roundup jury verdict
Reuters — A U.S. judge on Tuesday said he would reduce a US$80 million damage award against Bayer to US$50 million or less in the case of a man who blamed his cancer on glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said the jury’s $75 million punitive damages award to plaintiff […] Read more
Bayer seeks glyphosate litigation advice as Elliott reveals stake
Frankfurt | Reuters — Chemicals giant Bayer , under pressure from activist shareholders, said on Wednesday it has hired an external lawyer to advise its supervisory board and has set up a committee to help resolve a multi-billion dollar glyphosate litigation issue. Bayer has seen its share price tumble in the wake of its US$63 […] Read more
Bayer to invest $7.5 billion in new herbicides
Berlin | Reuters — Bayer said it would invest five billion euros (C$7.5 billion) in developing new weedkillers and reducing its environmental impact by 30 per cent by 2030, as it seeks to address the fallout from U.S. class-action litigation over glyphosate. “While glyphosate will continue to play an important role in agriculture and in […] Read more
USDA investigates unapproved GMO wheat in Washington state
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed the discovery of unapproved, genetically modified (GM) wheat plants growing in an un-planted agricultural field in Washington state. There was no evidence the wheat had entered the food supply, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in a statement on Friday. The wheat […] Read more
In the weeds: Canadian farmers can’t stay ahead of herbicide resistance
The problem is huge, rapidly getting worse, and non-chemical weed control is becoming a necessity
Reading Time: 4 minutes Farmers won’t be able to spray their way out of this — Canada is now third in the world when it comes to weeds able to survive pesticides that used to kill them. “We’re quickly being overrun by herbicide-resistant weeds,” said federal research scientist Charles Geddes. “There have been difficult herbicide-resistant weeds in the past, […] Read more
California jury hits Bayer with US$2 billion award
Reuters — A California jury on Monday awarded more than US$2 billion to a couple who claimed Bayer’s glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide caused their cancer, in the largest U.S. jury verdict to date against the company in litigation over the chemical. It was the third consecutive U.S. jury verdict against the company in litigation over the […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
