On August 25, 2012, Nebraska set a new world record for antique tractor parades. The Guinness World Record for a Classic Tractor Parade was set at the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island, NE. 1139 tractors from 31 states were in the parade, and all but a handful finished the 2-mile parade around the track at Fonner Park. The State Fair was moved from Lincoln Nebraska to Grand Island only a few years before the new record. Classic tractors are generally considered at least 30 years old. Some of these machines still see actual use on farms but many are retired to collections. Go to any tractor auction in Nebraska and you will find tractor collectors looking for their next restoration project or for needed parts.
Events like the Nebraska State Fair and clubs like classic tractor clubs bring farmers together. However, not all factors that unite farmers are so positive. In 2013 corn farmers watched the unprecedented drop in their prices. It wasn’t something that was expected, and across the board, farmers had huge financial losses. Many had stored corn on their farms, and the value of that corn fell like a rock. Farmers with crops in the ground watched as their investment was devalued day after day and there was nothing they could do about their price, but sit and watch their investment become devalued.
In June 2013, in Macao, China began destroying cargos of U.S. corn. Tests had revealed the corn was contaminated by an unapproved GMO trait called MIR-162. Syngenta had applied for approval in China for this trait to be allowed to be imported. China like most other countries, including the United States, has laws, which prevent the importation of unapproved GMOs. Syngenta knew China and South Korea and other trading partners required import approvals. Thus Syngenta applied to South Korea, China, and other corn trading partners. However, Syngenta chose not to wait for those trade partners to approve their GMO traits before going to market.
In December 2014, China finally approved Syngenta’s Agrisure Viptera for import into China. Syngenta, however, had prematurely launched its Agrisure Viptera on the market in 2012, before either South Korea or China approved the Syngenta traits. Syngenta knew the status of the regulatory approval because Syngenta applied for the regulatory approval in foreign countries. Thus Syngenta’s decision to market its traits in the United States prior to their approval by our trading partners was no accident. Syngenta’s decision to go to market with unapproved GMO traits was deliberate. Syngenta put the American corn export market in jeopardy on purpose.
Farmers across the mid-west are joining together to do something about Syngenta’s risky business practices that contributed to the collapse of the corn market in 2013 and 2014. Thousands of corn farmers are standing up to Syngenta and joining together to file claims against Syngenta. Farmers are uniting together so they have a common voice (a voice to be heard all the way back in Switzerland, where Syngenta is based). Farmers as a united front will not only seek to recover the financial losses they suffered at the hands of Syngenta’s risky business practices but together they will also affect change.
As a united voice, farmers are not simply Syngenta’s victims. The American farmers are also Syngenta’s customers. Farmers will not be satisfied until they are paid the sums they are due, and Syngenta promises not to let this happen again. The risks Syngenta created by prematurely marketing its traits were completely unnecessary. Syngenta could have waited 2 years and avoided the risks to crop prices. The common voice of American corn farmers will bring about change and prevent this kind of irresponsible behavior in the future. This litigation won’t be as fun as setting the Guinness Book Record for a classic tractor parade, but united the farmers will stand.
Written by:*
Jon Givens
Watts Guerra LLP
4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 3, Suite 100
San Antonio, TX 78257
Phone (210) 447-0500
*This information is provided to supply relevant information concerning the subject matter of this article, and should not be received as legal advice. Legal advice is only given to persons or entities with whom Watts Guerra LLP has established an attorney-client relationship. Available causes of action and remedies vary from case to case and depend on the underlying facts of each. If you have another lawyer, you should consult with your own attorney, and rely upon his or her advice, rather than the information contained herein.
© Watts Guerra LLP 2015
