(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. judge orders next glyphosate cancer trial for March

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — A California judge on Thursday granted an expedited trial for March in the case of a couple suffering from cancer who sued Bayer’s Monsanto unit, alleging the company’s glyphosate-containing herbicide Roundup caused their disease. The order by Superior Court Judge Ioana Petrou in Oakland, Calif. comes on the heels of a $289 million […] Read more

All of the gains farmers have made in no-till are likely in jeopardy if their access to glyphosate is eliminated.

A new attack on glyphosate

Earlier this fall, some food companies were calling for a ban on glyphosate

Reading Time: 8 minutes Already by October 1, 2018, over 200 products sold under 17 different brand names were displaying the Glyphosate Residue Free symbol on their packaging. And another 50 brands representing hundreds more products are in the process of securing Glyphosate Residue Free certification. Farmers can expect increasing backlash over their use of glyphosate because of this […] Read more


Werner Baumann, CEO of Bayer AG, at the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, May 25, 2018.  Photo: Reuters/File/Wolfgang Rattay

Bayer CEO says would consider glyphosate settlement depending on costs

Reading Time: 2 minutes St. Louis | Reuters – Bayer AG’s chief executive said this week the company might consider settling lawsuits over Monsanto’s glyphosate-containing weed-killers depending on how high court costs rise, but stressed it remained focused on defending the combined company against claims they cause cancer. Bayer acquired Monsanto this year for $63 billion. “If we can settle […] Read more

Plaintiff Dewayne Johnson listens as attorney Brent Wisner, not shown, speaks about his condition at trial in San Francisco on July 9, 2018. (File photo: Josh Edelson/Pool via Reuters)

Bayer likely to get new trial in glyphosate case

Reading Time: 2 minutes San Francisco | Reuters — Bayer’s Monsanto unit was likely to get a new trial on the US$250 million in punitive damages awarded by a jury to a groundskeeper who alleged the company’s glyphosate-based herbicides, including Roundup, caused his cancer. According to a Wednesday court filing in San Francisco’s Superior Court of California, Judge Suzanne […] Read more


Trying to overcome Canada fleabane via breeding is the target of many researchers and breeders.

Better herbicide tolerance

Better technologies are coming, but we’ll need patience and shrewd management until they arrive

Reading Time: 4 minutes Count off the many challenges facing a farmer in any growing season and outside of weather conditions, the biggest impediment has to be weed management, particularly as it relates to herbicide tolerance. In spite of the importance of varietal or hybrid selection and fertility, and the potential for yield losses from insect pests and diseases, […] Read more

Plaintiff Dewayne Johnson listens as attorney Brent Wisner, not shown, speaks about his condition at trial in San Francisco on July 9, 2018. (File photo: Josh Edelson/Pool via Reuters)

Glyphosate maker Monsanto ruled liable in U.S. cancer trial

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — A California jury on Friday found Monsanto liable in a lawsuit filed by a man who alleged the company’s glyphosate-based herbicides, including Roundup, caused his cancer and ordered the company to pay US$289 million in damages. The case of school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson was the first lawsuit to go to trial alleging glyphosate […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. judge allows Roundup-related suits to go to trial

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Hundreds of lawsuits against Monsanto Co. by cancer survivors or families of those who died can proceed to trial, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday, finding there was sufficient evidence for a jury to hear the cases that blame the company’s glyphosate herbicide for the disease. The decision by U.S. District Judge Vince […] Read more

(Jack Dykinga photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Japan suspends sale of Canadian wheat

Reading Time: < 1 minute Tokyo/Winnipeg | Reuters — Japan’s farm ministry said Friday it has suspended its tender and sale of wheat from Canada after grain containing a genetically modified trait was discovered last summer in Alberta. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Thursday the wheat containing a genetically modified trait, developed by Monsanto to tolerate Roundup herbicide, […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. judge halts California plan for warnings on glyphosate

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — A federal judge has temporarily blocked California’s plans to require cancer warnings on products containing glyphosate, in a win for manufacturer Monsanto. U.S. District Judge William Shubb said the warnings would be misleading because glyphosate is not known to cause cancer, according to court documents filed on Monday in California. He […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

France says will not ban glyphosate when no alternative

Reading Time: < 1 minute Saint-Genes-Champanelle, France | Reuters — France will not force farmers to stop using glyphosate after a ban planned within three years, in cases where an alternative has not been found, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday. He added that this would likely concern 10 per cent of farms while solutions could be found for the […] Read more