78 / SEEDWORLD.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 NATIONAL cides business and research and development branch to FMC Corporation. Additionally, Dow will sell its global business of certain specialized plastics products (ethylene acrylic acid copolymers and ionomers) to SK Global Chemical Co. LTD. JURY AWARDS $218 MILLION TO KANSAS FARMERS A Kansas jury sided with Kansas corn producers in the first of eight certified state class action lawsuits involving the nation’s corn growers’ claims that Syngenta’s actions with its genetically modified strains of corn led to the loss of an important market for U.S. corn and causing them economic harm. After a half day of deliberation, the jury found Syngenta negligent and awarded $217,700,000 in compensatory damages to the class of more than 7,000 Kansas corn growers, who were represented in the lawsuit by four Kansas corn producer plaintiffs. (Five Star Farms et al v. Syngenta AG et al, No. 2:14-cv-02571) insecticide, Fortenza, for use in corn and cotton. The active ingredient in Fortenza, cyantraniliprole, is labeled to protect against above- and below-ground insects, including black cutworm, fall armyworm, white grub, seedcorn maggot and wireworm. This is especially important to growers who are located in areas with high cutworm history. “We designed Fortenza to com- plement our brands con- taining Cruiser insecticide, and data shows combining these products enhances the spectrum of insect control activity, raising the bar of protection for U.S. growers,” says Dale Ireland, Syngenta Seedcare technical product lead. INTERNATIONAL CHINA APPROVES AGRISURE DURACADE TRAIT On July 17, Syngenta announced it received import approval from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture for its Agrisure Duracade trait (Event 5307). The approval covers corn grain and processing co-products, including dried distillers grains (DDGs), for food and feed use. “Obtaining this regulatory approval opens up new opportunities within our portfolio,” says David Hollinrake, president of Syngenta Seeds, LLC. The Agrisure Duracade trait has completed the Food and Drug Administration consultation process, received registra- tion from the Environmental Protection Agency and has been fully deregulated by the USDA since 2013. EUROPEAN COMMISSION AUTHORIZES ENLIST On July 4, the European Commission authorized Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist corn for food and feed use. The Commission noted in its state- ment the traits it recently approved “had gone through a full authorization procedure, including a favorable scientific assessment by the European Food Safety Authority.” REGULATORY ROUNDUP Keeping you informed of legislative and regulatory changes at the state, national and international levels — from lawsuits to approvals to other regulatory issues affecting your business. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE GRANTS KEYGENE 3 PATENTS The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office grants KeyGene patents US 9,574,230, US 9,657,335 and US 9,670,542, titled ”High throughput screening of naturally occurring polymor- phisms.” This strengthens the company’s global patent port- folio protecting its KeyPoint technology and expanding KeyGene’s global portfolio following earlier grants of patents for methods to screen populations using next gener- ation sequencing approaches in Australia, Canada, China, Europe, Japan and the United States. DOW, DUPONT REACH DEAL WITH CANADIAN COMPETITION BUREAU The Canadian Competition Bureau concluded that the proposed merger between DuPont and The Dow Chemical Company would likely result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition and a decrease in innovation in the supply and development of certain crop protection products and specialized packaging plastics. To address these concerns, DuPont agreed to sell a signifi- cant part of its global herbi- FORTENZA APPROVED FOR CORN, COTTON The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved Syngenta’s seed treatment CHINA APPROVES MON 87705 SOYBEAN The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture granted approval for the import and food/feed use of Monsanto’s MON 87705 soybean. This approval is for a key component of Monsanto’s Vistive Gold soybeans, which produce a low-saturate, high- oleic soybean oil. With this approval, Monsanto will now begin commercial preparation for the full-scale launch of Vistive Gold soybeans in 2018. SW