Bayer Extends Genetically Modified Rice Settlement Deadline

Rice farmers have nearly a month to file for part of a $750 million settlement to claims that they lost money because Bayer CropScience mistakenly sold genetically modified seed in the United States.

The original deadline was Oct. 10, but attorney Don Downing of St. Louis says Bayer extended it to Nov. 21.

Without claims from growers representing 85 percent of the average acres planted from 2006 to 2009, Bayer could walk away from the settlement.

Company spokesman Greg Coffey says officials don’t know if that goal was met but want to ensure that all growers have a chance to file.

The settlement extends to all U.S. farmers who planted long-grain rice between 2006 and 2010. It’s grown in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, Mississippi, Florida and California.

It applies to long-grain rice, the kind used in pilaf or typically mixed with beans. It doesn’t affect farmers who planted medium-grain rice, which is often used in sushi, or short-grain rice, which is often used to make cereal.

A farmer who planted 500 acres of rice every year from 2006 to 2010 would collect $155,000 based on a rate of $310 per acre. Plus, farmers can collect if the contaminated rice forced them to plant another crop, such as wheat or soybeans, that didn’t pay as well.

The litigation goes back to 2006, when Bayer disclosed that an experimental strain of genetically altered rice was found in U.S. food supplies. No human health problems have been associated with the contamination, but that wasn’t known at the time and the disclosure led to the fear that the rice was unsafe. It also quashed sales in major markets, including the European Union, leading to lower prices for long-grain rice.

Topics USA Agribusiness