Bayer says it will continue to provide “essential healthcare and agriculture products” to Russia because to withhold them “would only multiply the war’s ongoing toll on human life.”
In a statement on its website, the multinational pharmaceutical and chemical firm said it has “an ethical obligation” to continue supplying “cardiovascular treatments, health products for pregnant women and children, as well as seeds to grow food.”
The company said that since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “We have utterly condemned this brutal aggression against a sovereign country.”
However, it also said, “Bayer is fully committed to helping prevent what could become an unprecedented food crisis. We share the view of the UN that global access to Ukraine’s food products and Russian food and fertilizers is essential to alleviate pressure on the global food system. In line with this, we have decided to continue supplying Russian farmers with essential agricultural products to ensure they can contribute to fulfilling the global demand.”
The statement also outlined the company’s efforts in Ukraine, including an investment of more than 30 million Euros (about $30.5 million) in its Pochuiky seed plant.
Cheney, Murkowski in primary bouts today
Two critics of Donald Trump are in primary contests today to determine whether they will be their party’s standard-bearers in November. One is likely to go on to the general election; the other, probably not.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is seeking her fourth term in the U.S. Senate, running against Trump-endorsed Kelly Tshibaka, the former commissioner of Alaska’s Department of Administration. Murkowski is a rare Republican who both voted for Trump’s impeachment following the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, and also supports abortion rights. But with the top four vote-getters in the primary moving on to November, the primary has contained “relatively little drama,” The Washington Post reported Monday.
In Wyoming, polls suggest that Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the Jan. 6 committee, is likely to lose by a substantial margin to her opponent, attorney and former Republican National Committeewoman Harriet Hageman, who has Trump’s backing.
Also in Alaska: Three contenders will vie for the seat of the late Rep. Don Young. Sarah Palin has Trump’s endorsement in the race against fellow Republican Nick Begich III and Democrat Mary Peltola. With two Republicans likely to be competing for the same voters, Peltola may have the advantage, some observers say. Use of a new ranked-choice voting system means that results won’t be known for a couple of weeks.
Nevada water official decries lack of consensus as states miss deadline for Colorado River negotiations
Nevada’s primary Colorado River negotiator is calling for the Interior Department to use its authority to preserve water levels in the river after weeks of state-led negotiations have resulted in — as he puts it — "exactly nothing in terms of meaningful collective action to help forestall the looming crisis."
In a letter to Interior Department officials on Monday, Southern Nevada Water Authority general manager John Entsminger chided states for holding "unreasonable expectations" in discussions over how to use 2 to 4 million acre-feet less water in 2023.
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Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton warned states in June that they had until August 15 to determine where to make the cuts, or the bureau would step in and make that decision for them.
"By missing this deadline, we are doing a disservice to every person, city, ecosystem, farmer, rancher and tribal nation that relies upon the Colorado River," Entsminger said in the letter.
Iraq fulfills promise with rice purchase
Iraq is spending more money than the country likely wants to, but it is living up to a promise it made mast year to buy 200,000 metric tons of U.S. rice per marketing year, according to the USA Rice Federation. The latest Iraqi purchase was for 40,000 tons, with delivery expected in November.
Iraq’s purchasing agency spent about twice as much as it would have if it bought the 40,000 tons from Thailand, fulfilling a promise it made in a Memorandum of Understanding last summer.
“We are very pleased to see the terms of this first year of the MOU completed,” said USA Rice President and CEO Betsy Ward. “Iraqis value the quality of U.S. rice and in turn, Iraq is a vital market to our farmers here in the U.S. This is a win-win scenario for everyone.”
Brazil’s main corn harvest almost done
Brazil’s largest corn season of the year is quickly coming toward an end, but rains have slowed the process, according to the consulting firm AgRural. Harvest of the “safrinha” is about 85% complete in the primary Center-South growing region – up from 80% a week earlier and just 70% at this time a year ago.
Work is complete in Brazil’s largest farming state of Mato Grosso and harvesting is progressing quickly in states like Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais, but rains have slowed producers in Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul.
FOIA does not require release of numbers used to identify farm parcels
Farm and tract numbers used by USDA to administer subsidy programs are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act because they are “geospatial information,” the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in an opinion that also found customer numbers were exempt under FOIA.
Telematch, a vendor of ag data, claimed “that disclosure of customer numbers would allow the public to monitor whether farmers are fraudulently obtaining benefits from USDA,” the court said in its opinion. “But Telematch has provided no evidence of any significant fraud.”
The court upheld a lower court order.
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