www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

South Dakota legislators rejected a bill Tuesday that would have made it
illegal to raise or sell Roundup Ready Alfalfa in the state, February 2007.

Those who want to prohibit the genetically altered, herbicide-resistant
crop from being grown throughout South Dakota said it threatens to cross
pollinate and ruin the purity of common strains of alfalfa.

But opponents of a ban on Roundup Ready Alfalfa said there shouldn't be any
genetic contamination of conventional alfalfa if growers of the specially
bred crop carefully follow the directions of the chemical company that
developed it.

Pat Trask, who raises about 20,000 acres of conventional alfalfa near Wasta
for seed sales across the nation, said biotech alfalfa threatens to
contaminate standard varieties that are easily cross-pollinated by bees and
wind. Because Roundup Ready Alfalfa, which is made by Monsanto and licensed
by Forage Genetics, is a perennial and its seed can sprout decades into the
future, it would be difficult to rid an area of it, he said.

'This is a really, really serious threat to the conventional alfalfa seed
industry,' Trask told the Senate Agriculture Committee.

'This will eliminate the conventional varieties of alfalfa,' he said. 'If
you don't protect this, you're going to lose one of the biggest seed cows
there ever was in this state.'

South Dakota should not allow biotech alfalfa production to spread until the
U.S. Department of Agriculture has properly reviewed its use, Trask said.
USDA instead has relied on Monsanto research, he said.

Trask Family Seeds is one of several parties, including the Center for Food
Safety and Sierra Club, that are suing USDA over its 2005 approval of
Roundup Ready Alfalfa. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court at San
Francisco, alleges the agency failed to fully consider the public health,
economic and environmental consequences of the genetically engineered crop.

Alfalfa, which is used for livestock feed, is a major crop grown on about 21
million acres in the United States, legislators were told.

Arguing against SB188, Kathy Zander of the state Agribusiness Association
said potential for cross pollination is very slight when properly grown and
harvested.

Zander noted that biotech crops are widespread in South Dakota. She said 95
percent of the state's soybeans and 87 percent of its corn comes from
genetically engineered seed.

Zander gave the committee a joint statement from the state Agriculture
Department, South Dakota State University, Forage Genetics and Monsanto that
said the potential for pollen from Roundup Ready Alfalfa to contaminate
conventional alfalfa is minimal if growers follow the manufacturer's
instructions.

Larry Gabriel, state agriculture secretary, said farmers not willing to
follow those instructions should not grow genetically engineered alfalfa.

'Growers that plant Roundup Ready Alfalfa where alfalfa seed is being
produced are possibly incurring civil liability if that pollen flows to
those neighboring fields and makes that alfalfa seed that they're raising
less marketable,' Gabriel warned.

Roundup Ready Alfalfa can be grown only for hay and forage. Seed production
is prohibited. Monsanto and Forage Genetics require the biotech product to
be cut before it matures past the 10 percent bloom stage.

Matthew Fanta of Forage Genetics said 137 South Dakota growers had planted
more than 4,000 acres of Roundup Ready Alfalfa by last fall. He said demand
for the seed exceeds supplies.

The legislative committee killed SB188, the proposed ban on growing and
selling Roundup Ready alfalfa, 6-3.

Also rejected Tuesday was SB102, which would have required farmers to notify
the state Agriculture Department if they intended to raise biotech alfalfa.
That measure died 5-4.

Trask said the latter bill would allow conventional alfalfa growers to deal
with any problems that might come from biotech alfalfa in neighboring
fields.

'It would help if people know where the contamination source is because
there's going to be litigation,' he said.

[www.hemscott.com]