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Nebraska Corn Growers president blasts Bayer glyphosate petition

The president of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association says farmers in his state are outraged by Bayer’s request for duties on glyphosate imports.

“It is very frustrating.”

Michael Dibbern says the request is the latest in a series of proposals from large ag companies that could further increase cost of production. “In the last couple of years, the amount of uncertainty that we’ve had to deal with, I think has beaten us to the point that we’re not going to stand for a lot of this anymore. We’re not going to be as some say “Midwest nice” anymore. It’s time to go to battle on this and stand up for ourselves and stand up stronger on some of this.”

Earlier this week, Bayer filed a petition with the International Trade Commission for anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese glyphosate. The company says there have been less than fair market value sales in the U.S.

He tells Brownfield, “It’s a threat to our bottom line and obviously we recognize that they’re seeing these imports as a threat to their bottom line, but at the end of the day, it’s just competition. Competition breeds better efficiencies.”

Dibbern says Bayer’s move is similar to Mosaic and CF Industries request for countervailing duties on fertilizer imports from Morocco, which has led to a massive run-up in fertilizer prices.

Dibbern says he would like to see the government intervene and promote competition among companies so ag producers aren’t being held to an unfair standard.