By JIM RUTLEDGE

D.C. Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite opposition from a large coalition of 45 farm groups, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has decided to approve the billions-dollar takeover of Monsanto Co. by German pharmaceutical and chemical conglomerate Bayer AG, according to The Wall Street Journal.

While the $62.5 billion merger is still under wraps by federal antitrust regulators, the newspaper reported on April 9 the companies had pledged a series of government-ordered concessions to win approval. Once the deal closes, expected at the end of the second fiscal quarter, the merger would create the largest seed and pesticide company in the world.

Both the companies and the DOJ declined comment or confirmation of the report to Farm World. Government officials gave no timetable when a formal announcement would be made.

Monsanto is an agricultural juggernaut based in St. Louis, Mo. Just last month, the European Competition Commission (ECC) signed off on the deal after Bayer agreed to spin off some of its seed, pesticides and digital farming investments to its German rival, BASF – a move the European regulators said was necessary to remove overlaps with Monsanto.

The ECC is expected to approve Bayer’s $1.8 billion sale of its vegetable seed unit to BASF on April 16. In October 2017, BASF agreed to acquire certain seed and herbicide assets from Bayer for about $7.5 billion.

The Journal article brought a harsh rebuke from several groups. The “news makes it clear that our anti-monopoly laws are completely worthless and the U.S. Department of Justice merger review process is pointless,” the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) stated.

“Economists have well established that there is a strong likelihood of market abuse when ... the fact that DOJ has now allowed one company to control 77 percent of all seed corn, 69 percent of all seed traits and 58-97 percent of the markets in cotton, soybeans and canola means the DOJ has just authorized a monopoly.

“America’s family farmers will pay the price for this action, and consumers will see fewer choices in the market,” OCM added. “Where is the justice in the Department of Justice?”

From the Organic Seed Alliance, Kristina Hubbard, director of Advocacy and Communication, said, “This decision is deeply disturbing. If history has taught us anything, it’s that the approval of this seed industry merger will lead to less choice and higher prices for American farmers.”

The merger, she opined, “is simply bad public policy.”

Anna Isakowitsch, a spokesperson for SumOfUs, said prior to the newspaper report, “This deal has the capability to usher in a new era of sterile crops soaked in dangerous pesticides around the world.”

And the Center for Rural Affairs said the “merger is a blow to farmers and ranchers.

“The (Bayer-Monsanto) company will have control of more than a quarter of the world’s seed and pesticides market ... which means their profits come first before the health of the rural communities or natural resources,” it stated.

The merger requires regulatory approval from antitrust regulators across the world. Regulators in Canada, Mexico, Russia, India and Brazil are still reviewing the deal.

Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network said, “A merger of this size creates an unprecedented level of corporate control over seeds and pesticides. Canada is on the verge of making a decision that will affect farmers and consumers. It will shape the future of food and farming in Canada and across the world.”