>This was why (it was explained to me) Bayer withdrew their registration of imidacloprid for almonds.  They didn't want the competition to piggyback on their registration, and there wasn't enough expected market for the product in almonds to maintain the registration.

If my data is correct, in 2009 (2009 being when DPR sent out reevaluation notices due to concerns about IMI) Bayer was selling over 63,000# of IMI in just the top four Almond producing counties(US EPA figures). This equates to about .5#/acre application which seems to be what is industry standard.
I am not certain what cost was in 2009, but even at 2004 pricing of $281/#, that amounts to enough cash to cover the reevaluation data collection, if for no other reason than to prove the product as safe as they have claimed.
Their salesman did an amazing job of over quadrupling sales of IMI from 2004-2009 in these four top Almond Counties (Kern, Fresno, Merced, Stanislaus) alone(patent expired in 2008).

> Of course, the moment that a trusted independent researcher actually accepts reimbursement for the expenses involved in such a trial, he or she is immediately pegged by the activists as being "on the payroll" of Bayer.

You and I have had this discussion before and I am a firm believer of innocent until proven guilty, but neither side plays fairly anymore. Neither can afford to. I appreciate that you seem to maintain neutrality and are willing to share all that you have learned. Learning is going to be the key issue in understanding exactly what we are doing to and for our environment and its inhabitants. 

> Does that now "put me on the payroll" of whatever company hired them?

Yes, that does, but that does not mean that you won't bee telling the truth; although burning the evidence and having to sign confidentiality agreements does not lead to much transparency or trust.
Following the money teaches you a lot, but it's not the entire story.

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