Reading Time: 2 minutes 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

Mexican judge rejects industry bid to halt GMO corn, glyphosate ban
Farm council warns of lost productivity

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

German cabinet approves legislation to ban glyphosate from 2024
Law would still need parliamentary approval
Reading Time: < 1 minute 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

Bayer takes major writedown, flags Roundup settlement bill
Company writes down agribusiness assets
Reading Time: 2 minutes Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer is facing a double hit from a higher legal bill for claims relating to weedkiller Roundup as well as 9.25 billion euros (C$14.2 billion) in impairments on agriculture businesses, much of it related to its Monsanto deal. The company said the write-downs, driven by weaker demand from farmers due to […] Read more

Bayer plans more cost cuts, impairment charges
Pandemic now expected to hit crop science wing
Reading Time: 2 minutes Berlin | Reuters — German drugs and chemical company Bayer announced plans on Wednesday for more than 1.5 billion euros (C$2.34 billion) of cost cuts as of 2024 and said it would take impairment charges on its agricultural business as it battles with low commodity prices. Bayer said that the impact of the coronavirus on […] Read more

Bayer resolves more U.S. Roundup cases
Judge keeps pause on litigation
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Attorneys for Bayer and U.S. consumers suing the company over allegations its Roundup herbicide caused cancer told a judge on Thursday they are continuing to resolve thousands more U.S. cases, improving prospects for its US$11 billion deal to end the litigation. The hearing was a contrast to the contentious tone among the parties […] Read more

Mexico to phase out use of glyphosate
Farmers to have until 2024 to phase out herbicide
Reading Time: < 1 minute Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico will gradually phase out use of the herbicide glyphosate by the time the current administration ends in late 2024, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday, following a ministerial spat over the product. Acknowledging differences between his agriculture and environment ministries over the herbicide, which is used in […] Read more

Bayer books second-quarter loss after settlement
Reading Time: < 1 minute Frankfurt | Reuters — German drugs and pesticides group Bayer reported a 9.5 billion-euro (C$14.86 billion) net loss for its second quarter, following a US$10.9 billion settlement of U.S. lawsuits claiming that its Roundup herbicide caused cancer. The charges stemmed mainly from agreements which attempted to wrap up legal disputes inherited with its US$63 billion […] Read more

Bayer loses California appeal of Roundup verdict
Damages payable to plaintiff are further reduced
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Bayer AG failed to persuade a California appeals court to overturn a verdict favouring a school groundskeeper who claimed its Roundup weed killer caused his cancer but reduced the amount of damages by 74 per cent, to US$20.5 million. The decision by the California Court of Appeal came after a San Francisco jury […] Read more

Bayer puts Roundup future claims settlement on hold
Judge questions proposal for third-party scientists to rule on chemical's carcinogenicity
Reading Time: 2 minutes Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer was forced on Wednesday to delay part of a proposed settlement of allegations that its widely used herbicide Roundup caused cancer after a U.S. judge questioned its plan to deal with future claims. The German company said that lawyers representing those preparing a class action had withdrawn a request for […] Read more