Reading Time: < 1 minute 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
DeKalb pulls two ‘inconsistent’ canolas off market
Reading Time: 2 minutes Up against an “inconsistency of grower experiences” with the seeds’ yields in 2019, Bayer Canada is yanking two of its DeKalb TruFlex canola hybrids from the market. DeKalb’s DKTF 92 SC and DKTF 94 CR will not be available for 2020, Bayer said. Canola growers who have already booked those seeds for this spring are […] Read more
EU to ban Bayer’s Calypso insecticide
Reading Time: < 1 minute Brussels | Reuters — European Union governments on Tuesday widened the EU ban on neonicotinoid pesticides after deciding not to renew their approval for Bayer’s thiacloprid. Farmers will not be allowed to use the neonic insecticide, sold under the brands Calypso and Biscaya, after April 30, 2020, when its current approval expires. A majority of […] Read more
Big Ag wants a cut of booming fake-meat market
Reading Time: 4 minutes Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — Bunge, one the world’s biggest grain traders, recently disclosed the 1.6 per cent stake it had purchased in the fast-growing fake-meat startup Beyond Meat. The play looked smart after the stock surged more than 250 per cent since the faux burger and sausage maker’s initial public offering in May. Indeed, Beyond […] Read more
Elanco to become No. 2 in animal health with Bayer deal
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — Elanco Animal Health agreed to buy Bayer’s veterinary drugs unit on Tuesday in a cash and stock deal valued at US$7.6 billion (C$10 billion), creating the second largest maker of medicines for livestock and pets and expanding Elanco’s reach online. The deal is the latest in the fast-growing animal health market, which has […] Read more
Bayer mediator dismisses report of Roundup settlement
Reading Time: 3 minutes 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
Bayer, Elanco said aiming to reach animal health deal next week
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Germany’s Bayer and U.S. drug firm Elanco Animal Health aim to reach an agreement to combine their animal health businesses as soon as next week, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Elanco plans to pay for at least a part of the deal with its stock and any deal […] Read more
Bayer cancels plans to sell U.S. crop product in 2020 over safety concerns
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – Bayer AG has scrapped plans for wide sales next year of a chemical that is intended to protect U.S. crops from yield-robbing worms, citing ongoing safety concerns. The decision is the latest setback for Germany-based Bayer following its acquisition of Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018. Bayer is separately battling thousands of lawsuits claiming Monsanto’s glyphosate-based […] Read more
U.S. judge cuts $2 billion Roundup verdict against Bayer to $86 million
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters – A California judge on Thursday reduced a $2 billion jury verdict, slashing the award for a couple who blamed Bayer AG’s glyphosate-based weed killer, Roundup, for their cancer to $86.7 million. Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith of the California Superior Court in Oakland said the jury’s billion-dollar punitive damage awards were excessive and […] Read more
Juror urges judge to uphold US$80M Roundup verdict
Reading Time: 2 minutes 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
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
