Bayer Agrees to Pay U.S. Rice Farmers $750M

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.Bayer CropScience has agreed to pay $750 million to settle class-action lawsuits filed by U.S. rice farmers that the company's experimental LibertyLink rice contaminated crops, making them unfit for export. The settlement covers all U.S. long-grain rice producers, including farmers and crop share landlords, who planted rice between 2006 and 2010.

The suits, some of which were consolidated in 2006 into multidistrict litigation, arise from the discovery that trace amounts of LLRICE 601, a genetically modified rice strain resistant to a Bayer herbicide, Liberty Link, had been detected in the U.S. rice supply. LLRICE 601 now is deregulated by the USDA; however, it was not approved for human consumption at the time of contamination it was not approved for human consumption.

The current settlement offer provides an opportunity for Bayer to compensate the thousands of Arkansas rice farmers who suffered significant financial losses because of the unintentional release of Bayers Liberty Link 601 genetically engineered rice into the commercial long-grain rice supply," said Arkansas Rice Federation Executive Director Ben Noble.

Settlement agreements have been reached with two groups of lawyers. One agreement involves those cases that are a part of the federal multi-district litigation; the other involves those cases in state courts. BrownGreer PLC will administer the settlement processes for both agreements. Rice growers have a 90-day period in which to submit their claims.