Bayer and BASF lose dicamba

Bayer and BASF lose dicamba trial

A jury has awarded US$265M to a Missouri peach grower in his lawsuit against herbicide producers Bayer and BASF in the first US case on dicamba-based weedkillers, with at least 140 similar cases due before the courts later this year, Reuters reported on 16 February.

Bill Bader sued the two German chemical firms, alleging that repeated dicamba exposure drifting from nearby soyabean and cotton farms killed or weakened the fruit trees on his 1,000-acre orchard, beginning in 2015. A jury in the US District Court in Cape Girardeau awarded Bader US$15M in actual damages and US$25M in punitive damages, with Bayer and BASF held equally liable. Bayer is already facing around 42,700 cancer lawsuits in the USA over its Roundup glyphosate-based herbicide, made by US biotech firm Monsanto, which it acquired for US$63bn in 2018.

Bayer and BASF now faced other dicamba lawsuits that could begin later this year, Reuters said. Both companies said they planned to appeal the verdict, adding that dicamba-based herbicides were safe when used as directed.

In October 2018, the US Environmental Protection Agency extended dicamba’s registration for two years, but with additional restrictions on the product.

Progressive Farmer wrote at the time that off-target dicamba injury had affected 24 states in 2017, with farmers complaining that dicamba drifted away from where it was sprayed on biotech soyabeans and cotton to neighbouring plants not genetically engineered to resist it.

ADM increases non-GM soya protein output Global agribusiness company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is increasing production of non-genetically modified (GM) soya protein concentrate at its facility in Europoort, the Netherlands.

The Europoort facility recently starting producing the concentrate, which is available as a powder and is suitable for all types of food applications. Speaking about the move, George Perujo, product management EMEAI, ADM Human Nutrition, said: “With more consumers adopting a flexitarian diet, the need for plant-based solutions continues to grow in Europe. “And besides being conscious about sourcing, Europeans are more likely to pay attention to the non-GMO status of their ingredients, so European origination and production was an important factor when we were considering options for this expansion.”

IN BRIEF

CANADA: Seed and crop protection company Corteva Agriscience, agribusiness giant Bunge and ingredients manufacturer Botaneco announced in January that they were investing over US$20.48M in seed genetics to improve the protein content of Canadian canola.

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