DTN writer Todd Neeley reported last week that, “The first trial in a number of class-action lawsuits against Syngenta over the release of Viptera corn, has been set for June 5 in a federal court in Kansas City, Kansas.

“A court order was issued Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.

“Syngenta genetically engineered MIR162 corn under the brand name Agrisure Viptera to control above-ground pests.”

Mr. Neeley noted that, “Syngenta is dealing with multiple lawsuits claiming the company should have inspected and prevented harvested Viptera (MIR 162) corn from being shipped to China in 2013 and 2014. Plaintiffs in the case allege Syngenta sold Agrisure Viptera and Duracade (a separate trait to control corn rootworm), causing significant losses to corn farmers across the country.

“All farmers in the United States who priced corn for sale after Nov. 18, 2013, were approved last fall as a major class in the ongoing lawsuit.”

The DTN article added that, “Numerous other Syngenta trials also will be scheduled in the Kansas court, in a Minnesota state court and in other courts as well.

“In an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit last year, Syngenta argued the lower court judge erred in setting a nationwide class of farmers because that would include farmers not actually harmed by the release.

“The court fights began for Syngenta after developing MIR162 genetic traits marketed under the brand name Viptera. USDA deregulated Viptera in 2010. Syngenta moved ahead to commercially sell the seeds even though they have not been approved in China. In November 2013, China began rejecting any U.S. corn exports that tested positive for MIR162.”

Reuters writer Tom Polansek reported last week that, “A group of U.S. chicken farmers sued the country’s biggest poultry processors, including Tyson Foods Inc, for allegedly conspiring to depress their pay, the latest accusation of improper collusion in the sector.

“Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride Co, Sanderson Farms Inc and other companies illegally agreed to share detailed data on grower pay with one another to keep compensation below competitive levels, according to the civil lawsuit filed last Friday in a federal court in Oklahoma.

“Sanderson Farms said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that the company plans to fight the lawsuit.”

Mr. Polansek noted that, “The companies, which the lawsuit refers to as a ‘cartel,’ frequently shared data on pay with each other to keep compensation lower than it would have been in a competitive market, according to the lawsuit. That allowed the companies to keep more profits, the complaint said.”

The Reuters article added that, “Overall, about 25,000 U.S. farmers have production contracts with chicken processors, according to the National Chicken Council, a trade group. They produce meat to feed consumers who spend about $90 billion annually on chicken.

“Tyson said its average contract farmer has been raising chickens for the company for 15 years. Compensation ‘is set out clearly in contracts the farmers voluntarily enter into,’ according to the company.

“The lawsuit comes after the U.S. Department of Agriculture in December proposed rules it said would make it easier for chicken producers to sue processors if they believed they were being mistreated.”

A PRNewswire update from last week stated that, “Farmland Partners Inc. (‘FPI’) (NYSE: FPI) today [Feb. 2] announced the completion of its previously announced merger with American Farmland Company (‘AFCO’), forming the largest public farmland real estate investment trust in the United States with a total market capitalization of approximately $400 million. The transaction was previously approved by both companies’ stockholders at their respective special meetings held on January 31, 2017. The combined company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, retained the Farmland Partners name and trades under the existing ticker symbol ‘FPI’ on the New York Stock Exchange.

“Commenting on the merger, Paul Pittman, FPI Chairman and CEO, said, ‘We are now the largest, most diversified, most liquid REIT investing in farmland – and we look forward to continued accretive growth.'”

The update explained that, “The combined company is the largest public farmland real estate investment trust in the nation, spanning more than 144,000 acres across 16 states. On a consolidated basis, the combined portfolio consists of approximately 75% primary row crop farmland and 25% specialty crops (fresh fruits and vegetables and permanent crops) by value. This composition of farmland closely tracks the aggregate value of all U.S. agricultural production, which FPI believes offers stockholders well diversified exposure to high-quality U.S. farmland. FPI generally does not operate properties; it leases its farmland to some of the leading producers in the nation. FPI now has over 100 tenant farmers who grow more than 26 major commercial crops, resulting in broad diversification across the combined company’s portfolio.”

A Purdue University news release from last week indicated that, “This year’s Indiana Small Farm Conference begins with a series of workshops and a tour of some of the state’s most innovative urban agriculture operations.”

The release stated that, “The daylong workshops will be offered March 2, at the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds and Conference Center, 1900 E. Main St., Danville, Indiana.”

“New this year is an Urban Agriculture Tour. Participants will visit a school-based livestock project, a commercial hydroponic farm and commercial market farm. The tour runs from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. March 2.

“Conference sessions March 3-4 will cover more than a dozen topics, including:

* “Tools and Innovation on Small Farms”

* “Pricing Strategies for Your Products”

* “Carcass Quality and Animal Health and Production”

* “Balancing Farm and Family on a Small Acre Farm”

Last week’s update added that, “Cost of the conference is $75 for one day, $135 for two days and $190 for three days for those who register before Feb. 6. Afterward, costs are $90, $162 and $228. The last day to register is Feb. 20.

“For more information and to sign up, go to the Purdue Extension Small Farm Team website at https://www.purdue.edu/dffs/smallfarms/indiana-small-farm-conference/ or visit https://www.facebook.com/PurdueExtensionSmallFarms/ on Facebook.”

Reuters writer David Alire Garcia reported on Tuesday that, “A ban on planting genetically modified corn in Mexico is likely to continue for years as a slow-moving legal battle grinds on, said a top executive of U.S.-based seed and agrochemical company Monsanto Co.

“Last week, a Mexican court upheld a late 2013 ruling that temporarily halted even pilot plots of GMO corn following a legal challenge over its effects on the environment.

“‘It’s going to take a long while for all the evidence to be presented,’ Monsanto regional corporate director Laura Tamayo said in an interview. ‘I think we’re talking years.'”

The article noted that, “While Mexico is self-sufficient in white corn used to make the country’s staple tortillas, it depends on imports of mostly GMO yellow corn from the United States for its livestock.”

In a gesture that is worrisome for U.S. farmers, who are already on edge about potential trade disruptions to Mexico, the article indicated that, “Prominent Mexican politicians, including former President Felipe Calderon, say the nation should consider ending purchases from U.S. corn producers in favor of Brazil and Argentina if Trump applies new taxes on Mexican exports to its northern neighbor.”

The Reuters article added that, “Monsanto’s main business in Mexico is developing and selling conventional corn seeds and vegetable seeds, but Tamayo says the company is determined to defend the benefits of genetically modified crops on scientific grounds.”

A Department of Justice news release on Tuesday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri stated that, “Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Albany, Mo., farmer was indicted by a federal grand jury today for a nearly $800,000 fraud scheme to receive federal crop insurance payments to which he was not entitled.

“Ryan A. Ruckman, 60, of Albany, was charged in an eight-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo.

“Ruckman owned and operated farms in the Missouri counties of Gentry, Davies, Nodaway, Worth and Harrison, as well as counties in southern Iowa. The indictment alleges that Ruckman defrauded the government by claiming federal benefits in his son’s name in order to receive additional payments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), the Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment program and the Multiple Peril Crop Insurance program.”

The news release indicated that, “In order to be eligible to receive those payments, an applicant must be actively engaged in farming. Ruckman’s son, the indictment says, was a full-time student at Logan University College of Chiropractic in St. Louis, Mo. Ruckman allegedly placed crop ownership/production in his son’s name in order to increase the number of persons eligible to receive federal benefits.

“From February 2007 to May 2010, the indictment says, Ruckman submitted documentation to provide the appearance that his son was the producer of the crops and to conceal the fact that he was the actual producer of the crops. According to the indictment, losses incurred by the government as a result of Ruckman’s fraud scheme totaled approximately $795,935.

“According to the indictment, Ruckman used the proceeds of the fraud scheme to make payments on approximately $2.9 million in farm operating loans at Midstates Bank in Harlan, Iowa.”