Manitoba Growers Edgy About GM Alfalfa Release In U.S.

Manitoba forage seed producers are dismayed, but not surprised that American regulators have released Roundup Ready alfalfa in the U.S. without restrictions. “Whoever thought that Roundup Ready wasn’t going to come to the market was living in a dream world,” said Adam Gregory, an alfalfa seed producer from Fisher Branch. The U.S. Department of Agriculture

RR Soybeans Off Patent But Still Restricted

The one company committed to selling off-patent Roundup Ready 1 soybeans in 2012 says it will use contracts to ensure farmers don’t save and reuse the seed. But Pioneer Hi-Bred will continue to make the seed available for one-time use only once it comes off patent in August, 2011 at least until 2014, a company


Roundup Ready Alfalfa Nears Approval In U.S.

The American government is imminently expected to approve the commercial release of Roundup Ready alfalfa in the U.S. – a move which deeply worries Manitoba forage seed producers. Growers fear it’s just a matter of time before genes from the GM variety enter Canada, cross-contaminate non-GM alfalfa and wreck forage seed sales to Europe, which

GM Crop Patents Near End, U.S. Farmers Ask What Next?

The biotechnology industry should develop a format to handle the looming expiration of patents on the first wave of genetically modified (GM) crops, to avoid seed shortages or trade disruptions, the largest U.S. farm group said. “There just needs to be a way to deal with it,” Rosemarie Watkins of the six-million-member American Farm Bureau


Vilsack Seeks Biotech Compromise

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the largest U.S. farm group on Jan. 10 that farmers could see less government interference if they find a way for traditional and genetically modified crops to coexist. Farm groups and the biotechnology industry are skeptical of Vilsack’s “coexistence” proposal. He launched it last month at the same time the

Roundup Ready Soybeans Going Off Patent

Monsanto’s Canadian patent on its current generation of Roundup Ready soybeans expires soon, but whether farmers get their hands on any so they can save their own seed, is an open question. Monsanto Canada spokeswoman Trish Jordan says Monsanto’s seed company DeKalb is switching to the new, patented Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans, which


Monsanto Sees Gains In Corn, Soy, Wheat Projects

Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, said on Jan. 6 that a lineup of new biotech seed products has the company well positioned for future growth. St. Louis-based Monsanto said it has 19 projects advancing through its research and development pipeline, including nine added in the last two years. Notable advancements are being made in

South Africa Balks At Seed Company Consolidation

The derailment of DuPont’s intended acquisition of a top South African seed company – a deal that would have doubled DuPont’s African seed business – is emboldening activists opposed to creeping control by both DuPont and rival Monsanto of the lucrative emerging market. Citing unfair control in South Africa by the two dominant U.S. seed


Wheat, Oat, Soybean Acres Expected Higher In 2011

Soybeans, wheat and oats are the hot crops for 2011, say Manitoba seed growers. Barley, peas and sunflowers are not. “Soybeans were the darlings this year,” Oak Lake seed grower Eric McLean told fellow growers attending the Manitoba Seed Growers’ Association’s annual meeting here Dec. 8. “Peas unfortunately bore the brunt of the ugliness. There

Monsanto Committed To Canola

Derek Penner was an infant when canola, a healthier derivative of rapeseed, was first developed in 1974 at the University of Manitoba in collaboration with Agriculture Canada. Last week, the youthful president of Monsanto Canada helped open Monsanto’s new $12-million canola-breeding centre at the U of M’s Smartpark. “It embodies Monsanto’s very best in research