The European Union member states recently delayed a vote on the renewal of glyphosate. Monsanto said the EU’s risk assessment on glyphosate has been one of the most thorough reviews of an agricultural product ever conducted. The risk assessment conducted by Germany and reviewed by the European Food Safety Agency included more than 90,000 pages of data. It also had 353 reports that had not been reviewed previously by the EU. Monsanto feels the assessment considered the best available science and found no evidence of unreasonable risk. In addition, the World Health Organization Food and Agriculture Organization meeting on pesticide residues again reaffirmed that glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans exposed through their diets. Monsanto said further delay in the renewal is unwarranted and puts European farmers and the agriculture industry at a disadvantage. The company is urging swift and full renewal of glyphosate by the EU member states.

The fiscal year 2017 Ag Appropriations Bill will likely hit the Senate floor in June. Kansas Republican Senator Jerry Moran, who chairs the Senate Ag Appropriations Subcommittee, said recently the bill should be considered by the whole chamber sometime next month, according to the Hagstrom Report. After the subcommittee approved the bill, Moran said he expects it to be the second measure considered in June after the Senate returns from its Memorial Day recess. The full Senate Appropriations Committee amended and approved the bill last week.

Deere and Company announced it has tightened conditions for equipment leasing as lower farm incomes are leading farmers to lease rather than purchase equipment. Dow Jones reports that the fall in worldwide commodity prices has eaten into Deere’s sales and profits for nine straight quarters. The farm and construction machinery market slump has impacted Deere’s customer finance arm. Leases now account for a growing volume of business, forcing the company to tighten the terms for renting equipment that has rapidly depreciated in value. Leases make up a quarter of the company’s financing deals, compared with 15 percent in recent years. As Deere has stepped up its leasing activity in recent years, its finance unit and dealers are left with more used equipment as producers walk away when their lease expires. Deere said it’s restructuring leases to share more of the risk of further declines with its dealers.

Through the first half of the fiscal year, John Deere reports sales are down eight percent while earning are 30 percent lower. Net income attributable to Deere & Company was $495.4 million for the second quarter ending April 30th, compared with $690.5 million for the same period last year. For the first six months of the year, net income attributable to Deere & Company was $749.8 million compared with $1.07 billion last year. Company CEO Samuel Allen says the second quarter performance reflects the continuing downturn in the global farm economy. Further, Allen says that while the company expects lower results this year, “Deere is continuing to perform at a much higher level than in previous downturns.”

If Monsanto should chose to accept the proposed acquisition presented by Bayer AG, the deal would put 83 percent of U.S. corn seed sales and 70 percent of the global pesticide market under the control of three consolidating companies. The Wall Street Journal reports that would raise fears from the agricultural sector at a time when farmers face heavy pressure after three years of sliding crop prices. The National Farmers Union has long opposed such mergers as President Roger Johnson says if the deal were to be accepted; there will “almost certainly” be much less competition in the marketplace. Johnson says the lack of competition would mean “farmers will end up paying higher prices than they otherwise would be paying.” Combining Monsanto’s top position in crop seeds with Bayer’s much broader pesticide portfolio would lead to 28 percent of worldwide pesticide sales, 36 percent of the U.S. corn seed market and 28 percent of soybeans, according to Morgan Stanley estimates.