Photo: Salt Cedar & Giant Cane, Rio Grande, Big Bend National Park. © 2017 Delena Norris-Tull
The Merging of the Agrochemical Industries
Summaries of the research and commentary by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western, October 2020.
John Samson, Agronomist for the Wyoming DOT [refer to the Wyoming interviews] described the shift from numerous small petrochemical companies in the early years, to recent mergers of companies. In fall 2017, he told me: “International chemical companies are merging together. They have not changed new product development the way they did things over the past years.
“At the latest annual national meeting of the Roadside Vegetation Management Association, I noticed that only three major chemical companies attended: Bayer, Dow AgroScience, and BASF. Currently, Bayer is purchasing Monsanto.”
John mentioned that one advantage of the smaller companies was that, “Smaller chemical companies are now able to reformulate name-brand chemicals to make generic, less expensive chemicals. You can check the herbicide label [EPA] to see who is actually reformulating the given product.” Thus, mergers will likely result in higher chemical costs.
In 2017, Dow Chemical Company merged with DuPont Chemical Company to form DowDuPont. The US Department of Justice and the European Union have required this mega-giant to split its assets into three separate companies, to ensure competition in the herbicide and insecticide markets. In 2019, Corteva became the agricultural products spin-off that resulted from this split.
in May 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice approved a merger that allowed Bayer, a German chemical and pharmaceutical company, to buy Monsanto, a seed and herbicide manufacturer. One condition of the merger is that Bayer must sell its seed and herbicide businesses to BASF, a German company that is the largest chemical company in the world. There is on-going concern that these mergers will result in higher costs for farmers and reduced competitiveness.
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The Merging of the Agrochemical Industries
Summaries of the research and commentary by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western, October 2020.
John Samson, Agronomist for the Wyoming DOT [refer to the Wyoming interviews] described the shift from numerous small petrochemical companies in the early years, to recent mergers of companies. In fall 2017, he told me: “International chemical companies are merging together. They have not changed new product development the way they did things over the past years.
“At the latest annual national meeting of the Roadside Vegetation Management Association, I noticed that only three major chemical companies attended: Bayer, Dow AgroScience, and BASF. Currently, Bayer is purchasing Monsanto.”
John mentioned that one advantage of the smaller companies was that, “Smaller chemical companies are now able to reformulate name-brand chemicals to make generic, less expensive chemicals. You can check the herbicide label [EPA] to see who is actually reformulating the given product.” Thus, mergers will likely result in higher chemical costs.
In 2017, Dow Chemical Company merged with DuPont Chemical Company to form DowDuPont. The US Department of Justice and the European Union have required this mega-giant to split its assets into three separate companies, to ensure competition in the herbicide and insecticide markets. In 2019, Corteva became the agricultural products spin-off that resulted from this split.
in May 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice approved a merger that allowed Bayer, a German chemical and pharmaceutical company, to buy Monsanto, a seed and herbicide manufacturer. One condition of the merger is that Bayer must sell its seed and herbicide businesses to BASF, a German company that is the largest chemical company in the world. There is on-going concern that these mergers will result in higher costs for farmers and reduced competitiveness.
Next Section on Herbicides & other Pesticides:
Next Sections on Managing Invasive Plants: