Bayer Accuses Six SEMO Farmers Of Stashing Soybeans

Six farmers in the Bootheel are facing a lawsuit accusing them of saving soybean seeds in violation of their contracts, with several of them also accused of improperly applying Dicamba.  DTN reports that Bayer CropScience filed the suit in January against the farmers who grow soybeans in Pemiscot County.  Bayer’s suit accuses the six of not planting all the seeds they were contracted to use, which contained the company’s Roundup Ready 2 Xtend trait.  Bayer also accuses four farmers from Hayti of applying Dicamba herbicide after the June 30th cutoff date set by the EPA and Missouri Department of Agriculture.  The farmers denied the claims in a response filing in February, and are asking for a jury trial.  A spokesperson for Bayer told DTN that illegal use of biotechnology threatens its availability for all farmers, citing reduced Dicamba application windows recently announced in Illinois, Iowa, and two other states.  An attorney representing the six farmers did not respond to DTN’s request for comment.