COMPANY NEWS
1.DuPont, Monsanto trade barbs over competition
2.18 cattle die near Idaho mine; selenium suspected
3.Livestock deaths may impact talks on Monsanto mine
EXTRACT: [Monsanto] says the mine is critical to the continued production of the elemental phosphorus used in glyphosate, a herbicide. Glyphosate, a component of Monsanto's Roundup brand, is one of the foundations of modern agriculture, said Trent Clark, Monsanto's director of public and governmental affairs. (item 3)
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1.DuPont, Monsanto trade barbs over competition
Chuck Neubauer
Washington Times, August 28 2009
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Agribusiness giant DuPont, charged by its chief rival Monsanto of being "dishonest, disingenuous and downright deceitful" in a literal food fight over control of the seed business, has accused Monsanto of unfairly attempting to "distract attention" from a public battle over competition in the crop biotechnology business.
In an Aug. 25 letter to Hugh Grant, Monsanto's chairman, president and chief executive officer, Thomas L. Sager, DuPont's senior vice president and general counsel, dismissed allegations by Monsanto earlier this month that DuPont had engaged in covert attacks on its seed business practices.
Mr. Sager said Monsanto was trying to raise "two-year-old accusations that were all proven false," adding that DuPont's right to speak out was "constitutionally protected." He said DuPont would "welcome and encourage broad participation" in a wide-ranging public debate over competition in seed production and biotechnology.
Monsanto and DuPont have maintained high profile positions in the seed industry and each has sought to keep from falling behind. DuPont has recently been concerned that Monsanto had moved to gain an unfair advantage in selling genetically engineered seeds to better protect crops from insects and weeds.
DuPont has provided support for a farm advocacy group called the Organization for Competitive Markets, which has been critical of Monsanto for what it has described as a "virtual monopoly" of the seed business. The group sponsored a conference earlier this month on "confronting the threats to market competition" where Monsanto and other agribusiness issues were discussed.
The Agriculture and Justice departments will hold public workshops on the concentration in agriculture early in 2010.
"All interested parties have a constitutionally protected right to be heard,and Monsanto should not discourage those who disagree with you from participating in this dialogue," Mr. Sager said, acknowledging DuPont's support of the Organization for Competitive Markets "just as we support dozens of organizations whose views coincide with ours."
Earlier this month, Mr. Grant accused DuPont in a separate letter of using third parties to attack Monsanto, activities which he said "were misleading to the public and a serious breach of business ethics far beyond honest competitor behavior."
He demanded a special committee be named to investigate a pattern of covert attacks on Monsanto's business practices by DuPont. He made the request for an investigation by DuPont's independent directors in a letter to Charles O. Holliday Jr., chairman of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.
In May, Monsanto filed a lawsuit against DuPont for patent infringement and DuPont countersued, accusing Monsanto of being anti-competitive. The case is pending before a federal court in St. Louis.
Monsanto spokesman Lee Quarles said the DuPont letter was not responsive to the Monsanto request.
"Unfortunately, this response does not address the core issue raised in our letter - that DuPont is investing in a strategy of attacking a competitor rather than delivering better products for farmers," Mr. Quarles said. "It is also regrettable that DuPont makes no commitment to review legitimate questions about its campaign of defamation against Monsanto."
He said, "The single most important thing in their response is that it further attempts to distract people from the real motives behind all of this - specifically that their product does not work and their continued belief that they can use our product without our authorization. ... We look forward to a trial in court as soon as possible."
DuPont spokesman Anthony Farina said several companies, farmers, nonprofit groups and government authorities are "active participants in the important public discussion about competition in agriculture.
"Our response to Monsanto's latest lawsuit makes clear why Monsanto's business practices are illegal and why Monsanto's anti-competitive business practices hurt farmers, hurt consumers and hurt independent seed companies," he said. "We will not try these important issues through the media and we look forward to having these issues decided in court - where Monsanto initiated this."
The dueling letters are the latest skirmish in a bitter battle between Monsanto and DuPont for control of the crop biotechnology business. Both companies accuse the other of waging misleading campaigns. In 2006 and 2007, DuPont tried unsuccessfully to block Monsanto from buying the nation's largest cotton seed supplier, Delta & Pine Land Co.
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2.18 cattle die near Idaho mine; selenium suspected
Associated Press, August 14 2009
http://www.capitalpress.com/idaho/AP-Cattle-deaths-081409
BOISE, Idaho -- At least 18 cattle are suspected to have died of selenium poisoning near a southeastern Idaho phosphate mine.
These are the latest livestock deaths in this rich phosphate region, where pollution from a century of mining has killed horses and hundreds of sheep since the 1990s.
Cattle had been believed less susceptible to selenium poisoning.
These died around Aug. 5 near the mothballed Lanes Creek Mine, where fertilizer-maker J.R. Simplot Co. owns the mineral rights but says it's never mined the site.
Their deaths come just as J.R. Simplot and the Monsanto Co., which makes Roundup herbicide, are seeking to dig new mines a few miles away.
Livers from the dead cattle analyzed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed high levels of selenium, which is unearthed with phosphate ore and contaminates groundwater and plants near mines if it's not properly contained.
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3.Livestock deaths may impact talks on Monsanto mine
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press, August 27 2009
http://www.capitalpress.com/idaho/CRD-monsanto-follow-new-main-082809-w-art
[image caption: Monsanto's proposed Blackfoot Bridge mine sits 660 feet above the Blackfoot River, which is designated as an impacted stream by Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. The company's federal permit to open the mine is now in the public comment period.]
SODA SPRINGS -- The Bureau of Land Management's draft environmental impact study on Monsanto's proposed Blackfoot Bridge mine is open for public comment at a time when mining is back in the public eye because of a connection to more livestock deaths.
Eighteen cattle were recently found dead in the region, likely of selenium poisoning. The Associated Press reported the cattle died around Aug. 5 near the defunct Lanes Creek Mine, formerly mined by Alumet Co., which is no longer in business after it went bankrupt in 2002. It is now owned by the J.R. Simplot Co.
"Any sort of adverse event like that, whether Monsanto is in the permitting process or not, is unfortunate," said Dave Farnsworth, Monsanto's business unit leader for mining. "But it allows us to show the difference in our proposal and what historically happened with old practices."
Some of the measures Monsanto has taken in its plan for the Blackfoot Bridge mine are a complex cover design to prevent water infiltration to the selenium-containing materials, use of topsoil to prevent uptake of selenium in vegetation, selection of vegetative cover that limits uptake of selenium and noxious weed control -- weeds are high accumulator plants.
The plan also calls for an extensive water-handling systems to capture and contain water "until we can ensure it meets water-quality standards," Farnsworth said.
From the mid-1970s to the late 1990s, mining companies were required to place a certain amount of selenium-bearing overburden materials as supplement for topsoil, then place vegetation directly on top of that to reclaim the site. That made selenium available for uptake, he said.
Since the late 1990s, however, the companies have instituted several practices designed to separate vegetation from selenium.
"The Blackfoot Bridge mine will go a step further by use of a geosynthetic liner system, topsoil and extensive water-handling systems to prevent uptake of selenium by grasses and other vegetation on the site," Farnsworth said.
Monsanto is seeking federal approval for the new mine and wants to have it opened by the time its South Rasmussen mine plays out in 2011.
The company says the mine is critical to the continued production of the elemental phosphorus used in glyphosate, a herbicide. Glyphosate, a component of Monsanto's Roundup brand, is one of the foundations of modern agriculture, said Trent Clark, Monsanto's director of public and governmental affairs.
Blackfoot Bridge, Monsanto's fifth mine, would sit on 739 acres, 76 of which is public land, and includes 40 acres of water-management ponds. The north pit would be located 660 feet from the Blackfoot River, separated by a ridge. The Blackfoot River is listed by Idaho's Department of Environmental Quality as an impacted stream.
To obtain a permit, Monsanto must be able to ensure water quality and that no detectable trace of selenium enters the river.
Mining digs up selenium-bearing rock, which is put in overburden piles alongside the mine and later backfilled into the pit. When selenium is oxidized through air or water, it can leach into surface water or groundwater. It can also be taken up by vegetation.
While selenium is an essential trace mineral, at higher exposures it can be harmful or deadly to humans, fish, wildlife and livestock.
The company has spent five years and $6.5 million into studies addressing selenium management.
"The Blackfoot Bridge mine will be amongst the most environmentally responsible in North America," Farnsworth said.
Kyle Free, BLM mining engineer at its Pocatello field office, said it was BLM's job to look at Monsanto's mine plan and determine if it should be approved or if an alternative should be approved.
The Army Corps of Engineers and Idaho Department of Environmental Quality were involved in the process.
"This is the public's chance to look at this and see if we overlooked something," he said.
Originally, BLM set the end of the comment period as Sept. 28, but the Greater Yellowstone Coalition requested a 30-day extension, with no objection by Monsanto, and BLM agreed. The new comment deadline was to be released Aug. 28.
Staff writer Carol Ryan Dumas is based in Twin Falls. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..