LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- Bayer CropScience has agreed to pay $750 million to settle several lawsuits with farmers around the United States.
It was an experiment that went awry for Arkansas rice farmers like Sarah and Michael Oxner.
"When a section of the world market doesn't accept the rice that we're producing, it has an adverse effect on the price, and then, therefore, we can't sell our rice for the price that we'd like to," said Michael Oxner.
Litgation against Bayer CropScience began in 2006 when the company disclosed that an experimental strain of rice, not approved by the USDA, contaminated the food supply, affecting crop prices for thousands of families over the course of four-and-a-half years.
It was also a costly time for farmer Arlon Welch.
"You take one hundred thousand bushels of rice and you get half for it and you're on a very slim profit margin anyway in farming...so it instantly, even when you've got to sell it, half your income is gone," Welch said.
But finally a settlement from Bayer in the amount of $750 million.
The next phase is to decide the amount each farmer will receive. Attorney Scott Powell, the Lead Counsel, said within the next 90 days his office will fill out a claim form for each client.
"I'm confident that [farmers] are going to be fully compensated and it's an economic loss issue. You never trade money for peace of mind and happiness but [a settlement] is what we can do, as their counsel. And I'm very satisfied that we've done all we can do and they'll have a full measure of recovery," Powell said.
"The rice that we have now is safe and will continue to be safe for people to eat and enjoy," Oxner said.