Farmers convicted of, or who admit to stealing Monsanto s technology aren t the only ones being banned from purchasing Roundup Ready crops.
If somebody is completely uncooperative and not abiding by the terms of conditions, we ll put them on the unauthorized grower list, said Monsanto spokeswoman Trish Jordan.
Under Monsanto s Technical Stewardship Agreement the firm has the right to do random audits of farmers who signed the agreement, she said.
Some farmers have asked Monsanto to be removed from its list and to be allowed to buy Roundup Ready products again.
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What this is telling us is that growers who have found themselves on the list cannot obtain the best technology to be profitable on their farm and that s a consequence to their farming operation, Jordan said. We look at each one on a case-by-case basis. We expect certain remedial actions from them to bring them back in line… because it wouldn t be fair to say it s water under the bridge come on back.
No one has come back to the best of my knowledge. We ve had lots of people ask.
Alleged patent infringements come to Monsanto s attention in various ways, Jordan said. One is through random audits of customers. Sometimes retailers, or neighbouring farmers call in, she said.
It doesn t sit well with farmers who pay for the technology to hear others boast about using it for free, she said.
