monsanto

These soybeans were damaged in 2017 by dicamba, a popular weedkiller that's prone to drifting into neighboring fields. Some farmers in the state are defying efforts by regulators to strictly limit use of the chemical.

Despite A Ban, Arkansas Farmers Are Still Spraying Controversial Weedkiller

2:47pm October 09, 2018

by Dan Charles

Many farmers are defying efforts by regulators to strictly limit the use of dicamba, a popular weedkiller that's prone to drifting into neighboring fields.

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A new study from the University of Texas at Austin suggests that bees exposed to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, lose some of the beneficial bacteria in their guts and are more susceptible to infection and death.

Study: Roundup Weed Killer Could Be Linked To Widespread Bee Deaths

8:06pm September 25, 2018

by Vanessa Romo

Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin posit that glyphosate destroys specialized gut bacteria in bees, leaving them more susceptible to infection and death from harmful bacteria.

Plaintiff Dewayne Johnson, shown on July 9, listening to his attorney speak about his condition during the Monsanto trial in San Francisco. On Friday, a jury awarded Johnson $289 million in damages after ruling that Monsanto intentionally concealed the he

National

Jury Awards Terminally Ill Man $289 Million In Lawsuit Against Monsanto

10:04pm August 10, 2018

by Vanessa Romo

After three days of deliberation the San Francisco jury sided with Dewayne Johnson, a former school groundskeeper who regularly used the popular herbicide Roundup.

A protester takes part in a March Against Monsanto in Paris in May 2016. The European chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer is buying Monsanto — and dropping the U.S. company's now-controversial name.

National

Monsanto No More: Agri-Chemical Giant's Name Dropped In Bayer Acquisition

3:50pm June 04, 2018

by Camila Domonoske

Germany's Bayer announced in 2016 that it would be buying Monsanto for more than $60 billion. Now it confirms it will be dropping the Monsanto name, which has been made infamous by protesters.

Ray Vester served on the Arkansas State Plant Board for 18 years. "It's self-governing, by the people, for the people," he says.

These Citizen-Regulators In Arkansas Defied Monsanto. Now They're Under Attack

3:10pm February 14, 2018

by Dan Charles

In Arkansas, a regulatory committee of farmers and small-business owners banned the latest weed-killing technology from the giant agrichemical company. Monsanto is taking them to court.

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Bob Scott, a weed scientist at the University of Arkansas, says he wishes more testing could have been done on the new dicamba formulations, but "the product was not made available to us."

Monsanto Attacks Scientists After Studies Show Trouble For Weedkiller Dicamba

3:09pm October 26, 2017

by Dan Charles

Scientists are accusing the seed and pesticide giant of denying the risks of its latest weedkilling technology. Monsanto has responded by attacking some of those critics.

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Brent Henderson drives a combine on his farm near Weona, Ark. "If it's going to be legal to use and neighbors are planting it, I'm going to have to plant [dicamba-tolerant soybeans] to protect myself," he says. "It's very annoying. It's a property rights

With OK From EPA, Use Of Controversial Weedkiller Is Expected To Double

6:05pm October 13, 2017

by Dan Charles

The EPA says farmers can still spray dicamba on their crops next year — with some new restrictions. The weedkiller has been blamed for drifting into fields, damaging millions of acres of crops.

Soybean leaves showing evidence of damage from dicamba. Thousands of acres of soybean fields have shown this kind of damage this spring.

Arkansas Tries To Stop An Epidemic Of Herbicide Damage

6:09pm June 23, 2017

by Dan Charles

A weedkiller called dicamba, which farmers hoped could banish herbicide-resistant weeds, has become a plague itself in Arkansas. The state's regulators just voted to ban it for 120 days.

Emails Reveal Monsanto's Tactics To Defend Glyphosate Against Cancer Fears

3:57pm March 15, 2017

by Dan Charles

Internal emails show Monsanto executives scrambling to counter a U.N. agency's finding that glyphosate, the chemical in Roundup, can cause cancer. One email proposed "ghost-writing" scientific papers.

Kansas Farmer Mark Nelson says he's too busy with harvest to think much about abstracts, but he admits that the prospect of depending on fewer and fewer, larger and larger companies for his seed, fertilizer and chemicals is "a little nerve wracking."

National

Farmers, Antitrust Activists Are Worried That Big Ag Is Only Getting Bigger

4:10pm October 18, 2016

by Frank Morris

Five of the largest agrochemical chemical companies are currently involved in mergers that may lead to four companies controlling many of the basics that big grain farmers use to grow food globally.