NORMAL — A chemical and agricultural behemoth has bought a St. Louis-based startup company that works closely with Illinois State University, where researchers have worked to domesticate the weed pennycress into a cover crop and oil seed plant dubbed CoverCress. That plant is now producing a marketable crop. And Bayer has bought out venture capitalists
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — If you take an aerial view of Jason Lay’s farm in mid-April, it would look like a green dot amid a sea of brown. That’s because while most farmers around him in Bloomington, Illinois, leave their land fallow in between harvesting and planting corn and soybeans, Jason plants cereal rye — a
Before approving new pesticides for use on crops or around homes, the Environmental Protection Agency is supposed to determine what impact they’ll have on endangered species. But, for decades, usually the only way to ensure the agency would start the process was to sue. In January, however, the EPA announced it plans to assess whether new
This story is a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The newsrooms are continuing to cover Farm Bureaus and their influence. Is there an aspect of the Farm Bureau you think is underreported or not getting enough attention? Please contact Sky Chadde, sky.chadde@investigatemidwest.org, or Madison McVan, madison.mcvan@investigatemidwest.org. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls itself the “Voice
Rhonda Bomwell had never used a flea and tick collar before. Pierre, her 9-year-old Papillon service dog, was mostly an indoor animal. Still, her veterinarian recommended she purchase one, so Bomwell went to the pet store near her home in Somerset, New Jersey, and selected Bayer’s Seresto collar. A day later, on June 2, 2020,
RANTOUL – At least eight migrant workers who were infected with COVID-19 waited several days before isolating because the company they worked for, Bayer, declined to pay for expedited tests, Champaign County health officials said. The company’s rejection came after its occupational health team had agreed to pay about $5,000 in quick testing for about
ISU To Set Up Coronavirus Testing Lab NORMAL, Ill. — Illinois State University is adopting the University of Illinois’ Shield Program model, the saliva-based COVID-19 test, in response to the surge of cases in the area. Cases have been on the rise in McLean County since college students returned to campus at ISU and Illinois
UPDATED Saturday at 12:00 p.m. – CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – A federal jury found in favor of Bader Farms on all counts in a lawsuit against Bayer and BASF. On Friday, the jury awarded $15 million of the requested $20.9 million in damages requested by Bader Farms. On Saturday, the jury also awarded Bader Farms $250
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Closing arguments are set for 9 a.m. Friday in the federal trial of a lawsuit alleging Monsanto and BASF intentionally caused widespread damage to farms in order to bolster sales of a new pesticide and seed system.
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – For the past two weeks of a federal trial brought by Missouri’s largest peach farm against German agribusiness giants Bayer and BASF, the focus has been on the weed killer dicamba.
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – In July 2016, Bill Bader, frustrated by the second straight year of alleged dicamba damage to his peach trees, got out his invoice book and hand wrote bills to his neighbors he suspected of illegally spraying the herbicide: $720,000 to one, $660,000 to another and $1.2 million to a third, according
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The air in parts of the Midwest and South has become so contaminated with the weed killer dicamba that it has caused widespread damage to soybeans and other crops in recent summers, testified Dr. Ford Baldwin, a professor emeritus of weed science at the University of Arkansas in federal court on
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – In June 2018, Bill Bader’s grandson wanted a ripe peach to eat, so the two got in an all-terrain vehicle and drove to the area of Bader’s farm where the fruit would be about the size of baseballs, ready to eat fresh off the tree.
Since 1970, Bill Bader has worked on peach farms in Dunklin County, Missouri, just north of the Arkansas border. Bader started picking peaches at age 13, and in 1988, he established Bader Farms.
While BASF was telling farmers there would be no yield impacts from dicamba drift in 2017, the company was privately telling pesticide applicators that any drift they caused could cause yield loss, according to Monday video testimony from Gary Schmitz, tech service regional manager for the Midwest.