RESULTS OF A recently conducted No-Till Farmer survey indicate growers are not happy with the sale of Syngenta to a state-owned Chinese company. While most growers didn’t favor a Monsanto buyout of Syngenta last summer, they’d have preferred that deal.

Representing the largest-ever foreign company takeover by a Chinese firm, this $43 billion all-cash purchase of Syngenta is still 10% less than Monsanto’s bid of a combination of cash and company shares for the Swiss-based ag chemical firm offered last summer.

Growers Vote No.

Only 12% of the responding growers approve of the Syngenta sale to the Chinese. Some 69% feel the sale is not in the best interests of North American farmers or the U.S. government, while another 19% are on the fence.

When asked if they would have preferred to have Monsanto purchase Syngenta and move the firm’s headquarters to U.S. soil, that was the preference for 46% of growers. Some 39% would have found the Monsanto deal distasteful, while 15% weren’t sure.

Some 41% of the responding no-tillers feel the Chinese sale will reduce exports of U.S. grains to China. Another 35% weren’t sure how the proposed Syngenta sale will impact our grain exports.

Another survey question that growers were asked is whether the U.S. government should be concerned from a security standpoint about the Chinese purchase of Syngenta. Some 66% felt this would be a significant concern due to China’s reputation for undermining America’s successes and values.

In fact, several farm groups have urged the Committee…