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Feds lift ‘pause’ on increases in crop chemical MRLs

New set of rules also calls for 'cosmetic' pesticide use to be banned on federal lands

Reading Time: 6 minutes Proposals to increase a crop chemical’s maximum residue limits (MRLs) on foods and food crops in Canada can again seek federal approval, after being put on temporary hold two years ago. Among several other changes, a planned new package of federal regulatory amendments will put a gradual end to a “pause” imposed in August 2021 […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Bayer settles with New York over Roundup safety claims

Company blocked from advertising product as non-toxic

Reading Time: < 1 minute New York | Reuters — Bayer agreed on Thursday to pay US$6.9 million to settle claims by New York Attorney General Letitia James that it misled consumers by advertising Roundup, which has been linked to cancer, as environmentally safe. The settlement resolves accusations that Bayer and its Monsanto unit failed to substantiate their repeated claims […] Read more


(CaseIH.com)

French court bans sale of two Touchdown glyphosates

Court cites lack of analysis of effects on wildlife

Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — A French court has banned the sale of two glyphosate-based herbicides produced by Swiss chemical group Syngenta because of a lack of analysis on the chemical’s potential harm to some wildlife. “The decision on Sept. 30, 2020 by French health security agency ANSES to renew the marketing authorization for the chemical […] Read more

File photo of a cornfield in Mexico. (Roberto Cabrera/iStock/Getty Images)

Mexico opens door for GM corn in feed, industrial uses

U.S. 'disappointed' in Mexico's new decree

Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico on Monday scrapped a deadline to ban genetically modified corn for animal feed and industrial use amid trade tensions with the United States — but retained plans to prohibit use of the GM grain for human consumption, as well as the herbicide glyphosate. The move, approved in a government […] Read more


Around 20 per cent of Mexico’s corn imports from the U.S. are white corn, used to make food products such as tortillas. (Bhofack2/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. lawmakers call for action over Mexico’s GM corn ban

Mexico says it's working on revisions

Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — A group of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers called on Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Friday to start consultations under the Canada-U.S.Mexico trade agreement (CUSMA) over Mexico’s ban on genetically modified (GM) corn and the herbicide glyphosate. The letter signed by 24 members of Congress and led by Republican Representative Adrian Smith […] Read more

Around 20 per cent of Mexico’s corn imports from the U.S. are white corn, used to make food products such as tortillas. (Bhofack2/iStock/Getty Images)

Mexico to rework decree on GM corn, economy minister says

GM corn, glyphosate bans now due to take effect in 2024

Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico has offered to extend a deadline to ban genetically modified (GM) corn until 2025 and is working on a proposal to overhaul its plan, Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro said on Wednesday. Buenrostro said President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had told the U.S. Mexico could delay the contentious GM corn […] Read more


“There are waterhemp populations, mostly in the States, that are resistant to nine different herbicide groups. At that point, you have no options left.” – Kim Brown Livingston.

Is the end of the chemical era drawing near for farms?

The future of weed control is going to require a more balanced approach

Reading Time: 6 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Chemical herbicides have long been the jewel in the crown of weed management, but after seven decades of use, natural selection is turning back the calendar. Herbicide resistance in weeds was first discovered in the 1980s and the problem has steadily increased. With no new chemistries introduced in more than 30 years, […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. Supreme Court rejects Bayer bid to toss Roundup suits

Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Bayer’s bid to dismiss legal claims by customers who contend its Roundup herbicide causes cancer as the German company seeks to avoid potentially billions of dollars in damages. The justices turned away a Bayer appeal and left in place a lower court decision that […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

U.S. EPA ordered to reassess glyphosate impact on health, environment

Decision doesn't prohibit Roundup's use

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was ordered by a federal appeals court on Friday to take a fresh look at whether glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup herbicide, poses unreasonable risks to humans and the environment. In a 3-0 decision, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with several environmental, farmworker […] Read more

Colin Smith says more growers need to understand the mode of action along with the growth characteristics of target weeds.

Feeling cut off from glyphosate supplies?

The good news is that a shortage opens possibilities for sharpening weed-management skills

Reading Time: 6 minutes As most growers and industry stakeholders have heard by now, reports of shortages of glyphosate and glufosinate have become common since late 2021. They’ve led to bulletins of price increases of 100 to 300 per cent for glyphosate in some areas, and recommendations for how to manage their herbicide programs for 2022. One reason for […] Read more