146 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2017 INDUSTRY NEWS Delivering the people, industry, business and product news you need to know. Submissions are welcome. Email us at news@issuesink.com. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer agency dismissed and edited findings from a draft of its review of the weedkiller glyphosate that were at odds with its final conclusion that the chemical probably causes cancer. The original report contradicts other analyses from groups around the world, according to Reuters. A subsequent analysis by a United Nations and WHO panel concluded that glyphosate from food was “unlikely” to pose a cancer risk to humans, for instance. The US Environmental Protection Agency and the European Food Safety Authority and the European Chemicals Agency have called glyphosate safe. The conclusions of that 2015 report have had political consequences. Since its publication, Monsanto has faced litigation in the U.S. from people claiming that the pesticide caused their cancer. In the European Union (E.U.), a pending vote will determine whether to renew glyphosate’s license for sale in EU member states. If the vote is negative, glyphosate will be banned in the E.U. as of January 1, according to Reuters. The Council of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) held its 51st ordinary ses- sion on October 26, 2017. The Council welcomed Bosnia and Herzegovina as the 75th member of UPOV. Bosnia and Herzegovina deposited its instrument of accession to the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention on October 10, 2017, and will become bound by the 1991 Act on November 10, 2017. The UPOV Convention now covers 94 States. The Council adopted an FAQ on how the UPOV system of plant variety protection contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The price of potatoes in New Zealand has almost doubled in the last 10 years, according to Statistics New Zealand. In 2006, potatoes cost $1.10 a kilo – that had risen to $2.10 in September this year. Potato prices hit a 10-year high of $2.25 a kilo in January this year. Unseasonable weather created planting and harvesting problems this month, leading to a shortage of potatoes used for crisps. Potatoes New Zealand chief executive Chris Claridge said that potato farmers were about 20 per cent behind on planting across the country because of wet weather. BUSINESS NEWS Monsanto filed a lawsuit against Arkansas agricultural officials at the end of October over a state proposal to bar sprayings next summer of a controversial type of weed killer manufac- tured by the company and rival BASF, according to court documents. Complaints mentioned that the herbicide drifted onto crops and caused widespread damage. Arkansas moved just one step away from prohibiting use after April 15, 2018, of dicamba herbicides, which were linked to widespread U.S. crop damage this summer. The state previously blocked use of Monsanto’s dicamba herbicide in 2017. Monsanto’s lawsuit accuses the Arkansas board of acting outside its authority in prohibiting its herbicide’s use and failing to consider research Monsanto had submitted to federal regulators. The suit also asks the judge to prevent the board from requiring it to submit research by University of Arkansas researchers in order to gain approval for herbicides in the state. Gro Alliance announced it has signed an agreement to acquire the Thompson Family Enterprises soybean seed conditioning facility in Leland, Iowa. The facility was the former headquarters of Thompson Seeds and NuTech Seed. The Leland facility com- plements Gro Alliance’s current network of soybean seed facili- ties by adding access to 1.5 – 2.5 maturity production in one of the nation’s best soybean seed growing areas. The site features state-of-the-art conditioning and treating equipment with expansive warehouse space. Further, the location’s proximity to Albert Lea, Minnesota and Mason City, Iowa make it an ideal distribution hub for Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa.