Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA’s logo on a tower in Jundiai, northwest of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil, on June 1, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Paulo Whitaker)

JBS to pay US$25 million in latest beef price-fixing settlement

Settlement calls for co-operation in cases against other defendants

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — JBS SA has agreed to pay US$25 million to commercial beef purchasers that accused the meat-packing company of conspiring with industry rivals to restrict market supply in order to keep prices artificially high. The proposed settlement in Minnesota federal court was disclosed on Friday from plaintiffs’ lawyers representing a class of businesses 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

Employees walk around with face masks at the JBS USA meat packing plant at Greeley, Colorado on April 14, 2020. (File photo: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

JBS reaches ‘icebreaker’ settlement of beef price-fixing claims

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — JBS has agreed to pay US$52.5 million to settle litigation accusing meatpacking companies of conspiring to limit supply in the $63 billion-a-year U.S. beef market in order to inflate prices and boost profit. The preliminary settlement by the Brazilian company and its U.S. units with so-called direct purchasers was disclosed on Tuesday, and […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Supreme Court asks U.S. government for views on Roundup case

Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked President Joe Biden’s administration for its views on whether the justices should hear Bayer’s bid to dismiss claims by customers who contend its Roundup herbicide causes cancer, as the company seeks to avoid potentially billions of dollars in damages. Bayer in August filed a […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Bayer wins second straight verdict in a Roundup cancer case

Plaintiff's settlement demands unreasonable, company said

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — A California jury found that Bayer’s Roundup herbicide was not the cause of a woman’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Bayer said on Thursday, delivering the chemical giant its second trial victory over claims the popular herbicide causes cancer. The jury in San Bernardino County found that Donnetta Stephens’ cancer was not caused by her exposure […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Bayer wins its first Roundup jury verdict in case of child’s cancer

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Bayer won its first trial over claims its Roundup herbicide causes cancer after a California jury found that the herbicide was not a substantial cause of a child’s rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the company said on Tuesday. Destiny Clark alleged that her son Ezra developed Burkitt’s lymphoma after he was exposed to […] Read more

The increase in non-farm and non-country people moving to rural communities is pushing the complexity of litigation.

So sue me! Farm litigation is on the rise in Canada

Can you survive a legal attack from an angry neighbour?

Reading Time: 8 minutes It used to be a cheeky way of saying “C’mon, get over it.” Somebody might complain that you took the last donut, or that you stepped on their toe. And you’d reply, “So, sue me!” Not anymore. Across farm country, the phrase now is deadly earnest. Farming is no longer the isolated, rural occupation it […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

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

Proposal would cover suits over future illnesses

Reading Time: 2 minutes 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

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

U.S. judge raises doubts ahead of hearing on Roundup settlement

'The last question is a killer'

Reading Time: 2 minutes 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