(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. judge rejects Roundup settlement plan as ‘unreasonable’

Proposal would cover suits over future illnesses

Reuters — A U.S. judge rejected Bayer’s US$2 billion class action proposal to resolve future lawsuits alleging its Roundup herbicide causes cancer, saying in a Wednesday order that parts of the plan were “clearly unreasonable.” U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said the proposal “would accomplish a lot for Monsanto,” which Bayer […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Mexican judge rejects industry bid to halt GMO corn, glyphosate ban

Farm council warns of lost productivity

Mexico City | Reuters — A Mexican federal judge ruled against a request by the National Farm Council to freeze a government plan to ban genetically modified (GMO) corn and the widely used herbicide glyphosate by 2024, the national science council said on Monday. Judge Martin Adolfo Santos Perez’s ruling allows the executive order issued […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

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


Soybean fields are inspected in a University of Wisconsin research trial on dicamba drift at Arlington, Wisc. on Aug. 2, 2018. (File photo: Reuters/Tom Polansek)

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

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

German cabinet approves legislation to ban glyphosate from 2024

Law would still need parliamentary approval

Berlin | Reuters — Farmers in Germany will have to gradually reduce their use of glyphosate and stop using it completely from 2024 in order to preserve clean habitats for insects, under draft legislation passed by the country’s cabinet on Wednesday. “The exit from glyphosate is coming. Conservationists have been working toward this for a […] Read more


At the company’s Chatham, Ont. research farm, Bayer agronomic systems manager Adam Pfeffer shows a plot of XtendFlex herbicide-tolerant soybeans, comparing an untreated check strip infested with redroot pigweed against a herbicide-treated strip. (Bayer Crop Science video screengrab via YouTube)

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



A cornfield in Mexico’s Chihuahua state. (Undefined undefined/iStock/Getty Images)

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