June 9, 2025 

“On the Ropes”, Bayer Seeks Escape from Costly Roundup Litigation

Bayer executives have been warning in recent weeks that after losing billions of dollars to Roundup case settlements and jury awards, they may be ready to give up the fight and get out of the glyphosate business. In the US, there is no broad protection for producers of pesticides, so manufacturers can comply with the federal regulatory labeling requirements and still get sued for failing to warn, Bayer CEO Bill Anderson told investors in a recent conference call. Anderson said that is one factor among others as the company questions whether or not it should continue production of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and its other branded weedkillers. Glyphosate, introduced by Monsanto in the 1970s, is the world’s most widely used herbicidal chemical. The company has already removed glyphosate from consumer herbicide products sold in the US. Now, the ongoing litigation threatens Bayer’s ability to continue to supply glyphosate-based products to farmers and other professional users, the company said.

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American Soybean Association Urges Continued Administration Support for IICA

The ASA and many other ag organizations sent a letter last week in support of the Inter-American Institute for cooperation on Agriculture and the integral role the organization plays in bolstering U.S. agriculture and trade priorities. IICA is a specialized agency for agriculture that supports the efforts of its members to achieve agricultural development and rural well-being. Its programs specialize in areas like technology and innovation for agriculture; agricultural health; food safety and quality; international agricultural trade; family farming; rural development; natural resource management and the bioeconomy. In the letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer, the groups highlighted why IICA is a highly effective and trusted partner. At a time of rising global competition and growing threats to agricultural trade and biosecurity, continued U.S. support for IICA will strengthen American leadership, expand export opportunities, and reinforce the science-based trade systems that help U.S. farmers and ranchers compete—and win—on a fairer global playing field.

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Soybean Crop Conditions: First Look at 2025 Ratings

The USDA Crop Progress report, released earlier this week, offered the first soybean condition ratings of the season. While it’s early in the growing season, the numbers provide a valuable snapshot of how the crop is currently shaping up across major soybean production states. Only five states failed to surpass a combined good and excellent rating of 60%. Illinois reported 59% of its soybean crop in good or excellent condition, Michigan came in at 54%, North Dakota reported 58%, and both Ohio and South Dakota landed at an even 50%. Nationwide, the soybean crop ratings break down to 1% very poor, 4% poor, 28% fair, 58% good, and 9% excellent. A handful of states currently have double-digit excellent ratings. These states include Iowa (18%), Wisconsin (16%), Tennessee (14%), Mississippi (13%), Nebraska (12%), and Arkansas (12%).

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EU Open to Lowering Tariffs on U.S. Fertilizers in Trade Talks

The European Union says it is open to lowering tariffs on U.S. fertilizer imports as an offer in trade talks with the Trump administration but will not weaken its food safety standards in pursuit of a deal. Whether that would mean zero tariffs, or a reduction of current rates, would need to be negotiated. U.S. exports face the EU’s standard tariffs of 5.5% on imports of ammonia, and 6.5% on nitrogen fertilizers. Reducing tariffs could boost Europe’s purchases of U.S. fertilizer, to fill a gap as the EU cuts supplies from Russia. Around 24% of the EU’s nitrogen fertilizer imports came from Russia in 2023, while the U.S. accounted for 8%, EU data shows. Europeans would prefer buying fertilizers from the U.S. than from Russia. The EU will hit nitrogen-based fertilizers from Russia with tariffs rising to 100% over three years, a level that would effectively halt annual trade flows currently worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion).

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Iowa Landowners Urge Gov. Reynolds to Pass Bill Limiting Eminent Domain for CO2 Pipelines

Gov. Kim Reynolds has just two weeks to either sign or veto a controversial bill that would impact carbon dioxide pipelines in Iowa. On a Friday press call, landowners urged Reynolds to uphold Iowa and GOP values around property rights by signing the bill into law. House File 639 advanced from the Senate May 13, following four years of effort from a group of landowners and House lawmakers. The bill would do a number of things including require carbon sequestration projects to prove they are a common carrier, in order to use eminent domain. The legislation, and landowner support, comes largely in response to a proposed carbon sequestration pipeline project, the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, that would connect to nearly 60 ethanol plants and pipe the sequestered carbon dioxide through Iowa and surrounding states to underground storage in North Dakota. Those opposed to the project say a private company should not be given the right to condemn agricultural land.

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Senator Seeks Ban on Foreign Nationals in Agriculture Research

Senator Tom Cotton has introduced the Biothreat Prevention Act, legislation that would ban federal funding to any lab or university conducting agricultural research involving nationals from China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, or North Korea. “Foreign terrorists that seek to poison and destroy America’s food supply should not have access to American labs and universities,” the Arkansas Republican said. This comes after two Chinese researchers were charged with smuggling a fungus known to be a “potential agroterrorism weapon” into the U.S. The bill is designed to limit potential threats to U.S. agriculture by restricting foreign nationals from working on sensitive or federally funded agricultural research projects. In 2020, a University of Arkansas professor was arrested for wire fraud and pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI after receiving a grant from NASA.

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