Monsanto Company has entered into a settlement agreement with soft white wheat farmers in the Pacific Northwest that resolves a number of lawsuits related to the May 2013 discovery of genetically-modified wheat on a farm in Eastern Oregon and subsequent temporary limits on certain exports of soft white wheat.
Under the settlement and without any admission of liability, Monsanto has agreed to pay a total of $250,000 to wheat growers’ associations, including $100,000 to the National Wheat Foundation, and $50,000 each to the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, the Oregon Wheat Growers’ League, and the Idaho Grain Producers’ Association.
Additionally, Monsanto will pay $2.1 million into a settlement fund, which will be designated to pay farmers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho who sold soft white wheat between May 30 and Nov. 30, 2013.
“Rather than paying the costs of protracted litigation, this agreement puts that money to work in research and development efforts for the wheat industry, while providing a negotiated level of compensation for farmers with documented soft white wheat sales from May 30 to Nov. 30, 2013,” says Kyle McClain, Monsanto chief litigation counsel.
