GMO — Latest Stories — Food & Power

Big Ag Eyes Cut of Farmers’ Profits in New Pricing Program

Agribusiness wants to dramatically change the way farmers value and pay for a bag of corn seed, to get a second bite at producer profits. Bayer, the world’s leading seed manufacturer, has been piloting an “outcome-based” pricing program that adjusts the cost of its seeds or agrichemicals based on how well its products perform. Farmers and antitrust scholars worry that goliaths such as Bayer will use this data-driven pricing program to further squeeze farmers and to lock more growers into the behemoths’ product bundles and digital agriculture platforms.

Seeds & AgrichemicalsClaire KellowayMarch 12, 2020Bayer, monsanto, seeds, Tying, GMO, Seeds & Agrichemicals, Big Data

Canadian Antitrust Enforcers Investigating Big Ag for Stifling Startup

Canada’s Competition Bureau is looking into an allegation that agribusiness giants Bayer, Corteva, BASF, Cargill, and others tried to crush an online ag retailing startup, the California-based Farmers Business Network (FBN), according to court filings reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Seeds & AgrichemicalsClaire KellowayFebruary 25, 2020Antitrust, Bayer, monsanto, seeds, Seeds & Agrichemicals, GMO, Big Data

Data Consolidation Threatens Sustainable Agriculture Says International Panel

If you care about reducing pesticide use, promoting agricultural biodiversity, and supporting small farmers, then you should also care about who’s amassing agricultural data. That’s the message of a new report from a group of sustainable food policy experts, out last week.

Seeds & AgrichemicalsClaire KellowayFebruary 15, 2019Bayer, consolidation, Dow, DuPont, monsanto, resiliency, GMO, commodity, Big Data

Mexico’s Native Corn Varieties Threatened by New NAFTA

Last week, after the Trump administration struck a deal with Canada and Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, the White House declared victory for US farmers, who gained greater access to Canadian dairy, egg, poultry, and wheat markets. Unfortunately, the new deal called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, also includes lesser-known provisions that could allow agribusiness corporations to patent Mexico’s native corn varieties and challenge the country’s ban on genetically modified (GM) corn cultivation.

Seeds & AgrichemicalsClaire KellowayOctober 10, 2018commodity, GMO, grains, Trade

Bayer-Monsanto Deal Closes as Farmers Warn of Higher Prices and Less Resiliency

On Thursday, Bayer closed its $62.5 billion purchase of Monsanto. This comes roughly a week after the Department of Justice (DOJ) approved the merger, on the condition that the corporations sell off $9 billion worth of assets, including seed divisions, intellectual property, research projects, and more. Yet even after these divestitures, the combined entity will be the largest global seed and agrochemical corporation, and U.S. based field crop growers fear the power of the new combine.

Seeds & AgrichemicalsClaire KellowayJune 7, 2018Bayer, Chemicals, commodity, merger, monsanto, seeds, GMO, grains, Big Data

USDA Reports on Farm Consolidation but Ignores the Cause

A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report concludes that big farms keep getting bigger while smaller farms keep disappearing. Since 1989, the USDA finds, the number of large crop farms has nearly doubled while the number of midsize farms has fallen nearly in half.

Mergers & AcquisitionsKevin CartyMarch 29, 2018chicken, GMO, seeds, mergers, Acquisitions

Bayer Plans Sell-Off that would Worsen Competition in Seeds, Chemicals

In the fall of 2016, the German drug, seed, and crop chemicals conglomerate Bayer announced plans to merge with the U.S. chemical and bio-tech seed giant Monsanto. Hoping to overcome objections from European anti-trust regulators, Bayer is promising to sell off its vegetable seed business to BASF, a German corporation that is currently the largest chemical maker in the world.

Farmers Ramp Up Campaign Against Bayer Takeover of Monsanto

The National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) last week said it plans to bring an injunction against Bayer to stop the German corporation’s $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto. The announcement comes as farmers and antitrust advocates across the country organize against the looming merger of the two agrochemical giants, which they say would have dire consequences for both conventional and organic farmers.

Merging Seed Giants Tout “Innovation”, but Already Slashing R&D

In a September 20 hearing on Capitol Hill, executives from Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta, Dow and DuPont defended their plans to merge into three giant agrochemical companies. Under questioning by Senators on the Judiciary Committee, they emphasized that the deals would increase their companies’ ability to “innovate” and to develop better seeds and agricultural chemicals.

Seeds & AgrichemicalsLeah DouglasSeptember 29, 2016Bayer, craft beer, Dow, DuPont, merger, monsanto, senate, Syngenta, GMO, seeds, Leah Douglas

Food & Power Newsletter: Big Food Turns to Congress to Overturn State GMO Labeling Laws

After months of debate, Congress in early July established a national standard for the labeling of foods that contain ingredients that have been genetically modified (GMOs). President Obama is expected to sign the bill, officially called the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard.

Food & Power Newsletter: Perdue Says It Plans to Treat Its Chickens Better. But Who Will Pay?

Perdue, one of the four biggest chicken companies in the U.S., last week announced plans to improve quality of life for their chickens and to kill them more humanely. Although the plans have largely been seen as a step forward in animal welfare, three big questions remain: how much will it cost to meet these new standards, who will foot the bill, and when exactly will the reforms happen?

Poultry & LivestockChris WagerJuly 7, 2016chicken, consolidation, GMO, organic, Perdue, Leah Douglas, Animal Welfare, Beer

Food & Power Newsletter: A Closer Look at the Bayer-Monsanto Merger and the Seed Licensing 'Cartel'

Bayer’s $62 billion offer to buy Monsanto is the latest in a series of proposed mega-mergers in the seed and agrochemical sectors, following ChemChina’s planned takeover of Syngenta and Dow’s merger with DuPont. These deals have raised fears of higher prices, reduced crop biodiversity, and even greater obstacles to innovation in these industries.

Seeds & AgrichemicalsChris WagerMay 25, 2016Bayer, consolidation, Dow, GMO, licensing, mergers, monsanto, seeds, Syngenta, Leah Douglas