Monsanto offers cash to US farmers who use controversial chemical

Chicago

MONSANTO Co will give cash back to US farmers who buy a weed killer that has been linked to widespread crop damage, offering an incentive to apply its product even as regulators in several US states weigh restrictions on its use.

The incentive to use XtendiMax with VaporGrip, a herbicide based on a chemical known as dicamba, could refund farmers over half the sticker price of the product in 2018 if they spray it on soyabeans Monsanto engineered to resist the weed killer, according to company data.