" I heard it through the AgLine"

August 25, 2011

 

 

·        Food giants clash over access to China

·        Farmers to Monsanto: Save our seeds

·        Fresh Del Monte sues FDA over imports

·        Winter canola production on the horizon  

·        A quick way to grade grasses for ethanol

 

 

Food giants clash over access to China

 

(The Globe and Mail) – A legal battle between two of the world’s most powerful agribusiness companies is shedding light about the growing role of China in agricultural commodities markets.

 

Syngenta, the Switzerland-based agrochemicals producer, is suing New York-listed Bunge, one of the world’s largest food traders, for refusing to accept a type of its biotech corn. Bunge – the “B” of the “ABCD” group of companies that includes ADM, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus and control agriculture trading – refuses to buy from farmers growing Syngenta’s new Agrisure Viptera corn because it has not been approved for sale in China.

 

Syngenta said the action was illegal and that its new corn is approved for sale into “major” export destinations, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Korea and Taiwan. But, it acknowledged, not in China.

 

The lack of approval for sale into China would not have been a problem only a couple of years ago, as Beijing was self-sufficient in corn. But China has recently become a big importer. And Bunge said on Tuesday it was expecting that imports would “grow significantly this year”, one of the strongest statements yet from a trading house about the issue.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that China imported 1.5 million tonnes of corn in the 2010-11 season, which is about to end, the highest since 1994-95. For most of the 1990s and early 2000s, China’s corn imports were negligible, at just a few tonnes. For 2011-12, the USDA forecasts imports of 2 million tonnes. But private sector analysts are far more bullish, predicting imports anywhere between 5-10 million tonnes, the biggest ever.

 

The legal battle between Syngenta and Bunge reveals that the trading house believes that imports from China would grow much more than the level suggested by the USDA. It also confirms an open secret in the industry: All the ABCD companies are battling to establish themselves as Beijing’s favourite party to carry the corn deals. Until now, Louis Dreyfus of France has been a leading seller, but Cargill and Bunge are battling to keep pace.

 

The growing Chinese appetite for corn is helping to tighten the market, already suffering from disappointing crops due to bad weather and rampant consumption from the US-based ethanol industry. More imports, as suggested by the Bunge-Syngenta lawsuit, could further tighten the market, pushing corn prices even higher.

 

The commodity hit an all-time high of nearly $8 (U.S.) per bushel in June. CBOT December corn futures, the benchmark for the forthcoming new crop, are already at $7.45 a bushel. Brace for higher prices.

 

Return to Top

 

 

Farmers to Monsanto: Save our seeds

 

(Crosscut) – Eastern Washington farmers are increasingly worried about agricultural invasion from Monsanto's unwanted genetically modified and patent-protected seeds, which can threaten a farm's organic status and land them in court. Now a national coalition of independent farmers is fighting back.

 

Lazy R Ranch sits just outside of Spokane and raises grass fed and grass-finished beef, as they have since 1937. This fourth-generation family farm is run by a father-daughter team and, while the ranch is not yet officially certified organic (the process requires three years of documented farming practices), they have been farming the land sustainably for many years. Still there is one thing that could put all of their work to achieve organic certification in jeopardy.

 

“I am very concerned about genetically modified seed,” ranch owner Maurice Robinette explains.

 

For Lazy R Ranch to maintain organic certification, they must feed their cattle with organic feed — specifically alfalfa. Finding and growing organic alfalfa to feed his cattle, however, is likely going to get more complicated for Robinette in coming years.

 

That's because genetically modified alfalfa is a patented GMO crop of Forage Genetics (owned by Monsanto Corporation), and in recent years it has been planted across a thousand acres of Washington — most densely in the Columbia Basin, Kittitas County, and down around Walla Walla.

 

“I suspect contamination is inevitable,” laments Robinette. “Someone nearby will plant GMO alfalfa or someone will unknowingly sell me contaminated alfalfa and accidentally contaminate me. It is genetic trespass and there is nothing you can do about it — bees will pollinate wherever they want to. You can’t stop them.”

 

In the event Lazy R Ranch is contaminated, Robinette would have to take extreme measures to eradicate the seed from his land; the mere presence of GMO seed on the ranch would threaten his organic certification.  “I’m worried that genetic trespass may result in a loss of my customers who buy my beef precisely because there are no GMOs in it,” stated Robinette. The ranch is his sole livelihood, and that of his family.

 

“I’d have to kill every alfalfa plant on the ranch and start over. Once it’s in the environment, it’s here. You can’t get rid of it.”

 

Because Lazy R Ranch does not ‘own’ genetically modified seed, they could also face a patent lawsuit from  Forage Genetics, which is the world’s largest producer of alfalfa seed. Only an approved farm may purchase and plant GMO alfalfa from Forage and their website clearly states that “unlicensed commercial harvest, sale or uses of patent protected seed are violations of state and federal laws.”

 

While seed varieties are not traditionally owned by individuals (any farm can plant a beefsteak tomato if so inclined), Monsanto is changing that. The corporation has been producing its own form of patented genetically modified seed since the 1970s. Today it is the leading national producer of patented GMO seed and provides technology in 90% of the genetically engineered seeds used in the U.S. Market.

 

And Monsanto is serious about its patents – sometimes subjecting small farmers across the country to legal persecution for patent infringement. According to the Monsanto website, the company has filed suit against farmers 145 times in the United States. Of these, the company has proceeded through trial with eleven farmers — all of which were won by Monsanto. This does not, of course, include any farmers wherein an official suit was never filed. Some count these numbers into the thousands.

 

The most well-known of these is likely Moe Parr, a seed cleaner from Indiana who was sued for saving Monsanto seed. His story was highlighted in the award-winning film Food, Inc as an example of the intense financial pressure Monsanto is capable of applying. Eventually, mounting legal fees and bills forced Parr to settle out of court.

 

Few if any farmers ‘win’ and they are often overcome by lawyer bills and legal fees. As Robinette puts it, “It is really frustrating to see them never lose. They have so much money and so much power and they hire the very best people and throw a lot of money at (these cases).”

 

This past spring, however, some farmers started fighting back.

 

In March the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) hired a legal team and launched an attack against GMO behemoth Monsanto, bolstered by the support of a handful of other organic farms and companies. The case “asks whether Monsanto has the right to sue organic farmers for patent infringement if Monsanto’s transgenic seed should land on their property,” according to OSGATA’s website.

 

Founded only four years ago, OSGATA is a membership-based trade association that promotes and protects the organic seed industry through education. Many of the farms involved with the lawsuit have been growing organically for years and use only open-pollinated ‘clean’ seed that they have specifically developed for their particular climate and region. As OSGATA sees it, seed is the foundation of organic agriculture and the purity of the seed is paramount. And while the current case takes clear legal target at claims of patent infringement, many of the farms involved are seriously concerned with the growing industry of genetically modified seed as a whole. 

 

As of yet there is no firm data on the long-term health effects of genetically modified organisms. Still, there are growing health concerns about Monsanto's pervasive use of Round Up Ready with its genetically modified seeds - a trademarked herbicide and a man-made poisonous substance that remains in soil and washes off into water after it has been applied. While the Environmental Protection Agency maintains that the toxicity of glosphate — Round Up’s main ingredient – is low, other studies have linked glosphate to non-Hodgkins lymphoma and other cancers. Last winter a concerned plant pathologist at Purdue University sent a warning letter to Secretary Vilsack about a new pathogen he found associated with Round Up Ready seed.

 

And consuming genetically modified food is hard to avoid. Jim Gerritsen, President of OSGATA, asserts that “75-80% of all food products in the grocery have GMO content or derivatives. The reality is 300 million Americans are taking place in the world’s biggest guinea pig experiment.”

 

As a 2007 article in Wired Magazine put it, “a big chunk of all that genetically modified corn and soy go right into our processed foods and into feed for the animals we eat. So chances are, unless you are a raw or organic foodista, you ate a GM food derivative this very day.”

 

With these dangers in mind, OSGATA is setting a powerful new precedent for standing up to big agriculture. Rarely have so many small organic groups come together to work cooperatively: Heavy hitters within the organic industry such as The Center for Food Safety and the Demeter Association have joined regional associations such as the Organic Seed Alliance and Seeds of Change. “The organic and non-GE farming community cannot continue to shoulder costs associated with contamination, including testing for contamination, reimbursement for eradicating unwanted GE material from seed stock, lost organic premiums, and other costs,” says Kristina Hubbard, Director of Advocacy & Communications at the Organic Seed Alliance based out of Port Townsend.

 

But if it’s change they seek, it seems likely that they will have to fight hard for it. Even while on a scheduled call for this article, Gerritsen was in the process of filing a 135-page brief, writing and organizing a letter to the USDA and preparing another document to retaliate against Monsanto’s move to dismiss the case.

 

Monsanto is clearly pushing back, but positive news continues to roll in. In July 2011 the Minnesota Court of Appeals allowed for it to count as “trespass” when pesticide drifts from one farm to another.  In the future, there may be an argument that the same ruling may apply to GE seed drift. This bodes well for OSGATA’s argument and in any future case hoping to seek legal rulings in support of organic farming practices. Still, while small gains in state courts may help, it seems likely the battle has only just begun.

 

Return to Top

 

 

Fresh Del Monte sues FDA over imports

 

(RTTNews) - Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (FDP: News ), a fruit and vegetable distributor, said Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, seeking to reverse an FDA rule that restricts the import of wholesome fresh cantaloupes into the U.S.

 

Fresh Del Monte Produce said that its subsidiary Del Monte Fresh Produce, N.A., Inc., which is one of the largest importer of cantaloupes into the U.S., filed the lawsuit on Monday, August 22, in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

 

The company said the FDA's actions adversely affected its ability to receive perishable fresh produce for sale to its customers in the U.S., as the import alert threatens the viability of a major import source for cantaloupes.

 

According to the company, the FDA and several other state health agency officials have "erroneous speculated", unsupported by scientific evidence, that cantaloupes previously imported by it from a Guatemalan farm and packing facility were contaminated with the pathogen Salmonella.

 

"In fact, neither the FDA nor any state health agency in the U.S. has offered evidence or data to support the FDA action," Fresh Del Monte Produce said.

 

According to the company, the melons are farmed, processed, transported, and stored under state-of-the-art food safety controls that far exceed FDA regulatory requirements.

 

Dennis Christou, Vice President Marketing, N.A. of Del Monte Fresh said, "The farm and packing facility at issue in this case was in full compliance with these food safety procedures. The restrictions imposed by the FDA on Del Monte Fresh Produce's ability to import cantaloupes are unnecessary and not supported by the facts."

 

Return to Top

 

 

Winter canola production on the horizon  

 

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The demand for canola, best known for the cooking oil it produces, continues to rise and the industry is working to grow more of the plant in the U.S. to keep pace with increased sales.

 

Experts said the best hope for meeting demand is to grow a variety of canola that is planted in the fall and harvested in the spring, offering farmers in some regions a chance to make use of their land during a normally dormant period.

 

Most of the nation's canola crop is a spring variety, planted in the spring and harvested in late summer or early fall. About 90 percent of U.S. canola is grown in North Dakota, but by growing more winter canola, industry officials believe canola acres in the U.S. could more than triple.

 

"There is no reason we couldn't see 4 to 5 million acres planted from the Carolinas to the Great Plains," said Dale Thorenson, assistant director of the U.S. Canola Association.

 

Brian Jenks, a professor at North Dakota State University, said the country needs to keep pace with the growing demand for canola, which is seen as healthier than oils containing more saturated fat.

 

"We grow about 1.5 million acres in the U.S. and that is not enough to satisfy demand so we have to import a lot of canola from Canada," he said.

 

The U.S. used just over 3 billion pounds of canola oil in 2010, with about 2.5 billion pounds being imported from Canada, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

 

The canola plant, recognizable for its yellow flowers, produces pods that are filled with seeds. When crushed, those seeds yield oil.

 

The seeds also can be used for livestock feed.

 

Winter canola has done well in states such as Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, where it is planted after another crop is harvested, said Brian Caldbeck, a crop consultant from Kentucky. That process is called double cropping.

 

Caldbeck said growing winter canola in areas of the Upper Midwest, such as Iowa, is possible but would be more difficult because the region primarily grows corn and soybeans, two crops that often aren't harvested until late fall. That wouldn't leave enough time for farmers to plant winter canola.

 

"If it's not planted by the end of September it doesn't stand a chance," he said.

 

To grow winter canola, farmers in the Upper Midwest would need to rotate other crops, such as wheat and oats, with corn and soybeans. That would be a change for many farmers, who now often alternate between corn and soybeans.

 

"It would be impossible in the rotation as it is," said Stefan Gailans, a graduate student at Iowa State University who is studying the viability of winter canola as an alternative crop in Iowa.

 

Mary Wiedenhoeft, an Iowa State University agronomist who also is studying how to grow winter canola in Iowa, said planting the crop on ground that otherwise would sit dormant after the fall harvest would not only add a source of revenue for producers but would also help to retain nutrients in the soil.

 

Researchers acknowledge many farmers would be reluctant to grow crops other than corn and soybeans, given the high prices the commodities are bringing now and the likelihood prices will remain strong into the future.

 

But Thorenson, of the national canola association, said once a canola crop is established it would bring about the same price as soybeans.

 

Mark Peterson, a farmer north of Joplin, Mo., said he's been planting winter canola for four years. Because his area's growing season for corn and soybeans is shorter than in states to the north, he has been able to rotate canola with corn, soybean and wheat.

 

"As far as profit goes, it's been a little more profitable than our wheat crop," Peterson said.

 

Brad Andrews, owner of Medoc Valley, Inc., a farm retail and consulting business near Joplin, Mo., said farmers in northern states should seriously look at working canola into their crop rotation.

 

"The market for it is there," Andrews said. "We are still importing the majority of canola we use in this country."

 

Return to Top

 

 

A quick way to grade grasses for ethanol

 

(USDA-ARS) – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers have developed an inexpensive way to grade the ethanol potential of perennial grasses at the biorefinery's loading dock.

 

That future has been made possible by a team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, including Ken Vogel, Rob Mitchell, and Steve Masterson at Lincoln, Neb.; Hans Jung at St. Paul, Minn.; Bruce Dien at Peoria, Ill.; and Michael Casler at Madison, Wis. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports the USDA priority of developing new sources of bioenergy.

 

The researchers developed the first use of near-infrared sensing (NIRS) to measure 20 components in switchgrass biomass that determine its potential value to biorefiners. These components include cell wall sugars, soluble sugars and lignin. With this information, 13 traits can be determined, including the efficiency of the conversion from sugars to ethanol.

 

This is the first use of NIRS to predict maximum and actual ethanol yields of grasses from a basic conversion process. This capability already exists for corn grain using NIRS.

 

Predictions of actual ethanol yields were based on hexoses, or six-carbon sugars, in the plant cell wall and as soluble sugars. Since additional ethanol could be produced from pentose or five-carbon sugars as conversion technology improves, the NIRS method can be used to estimate what the total potential yield of ethanol or other biofuels would be if all sugars in the plant were converted.

 

The scientists tested switchgrass varieties and experimental lines adapted to the Midwest with the NIRS analyses and found significant differences for actual and potential ethanol yield per ton and per acre.

 

The study shows it is feasible to use NIRS to estimate ethanol yields of switchgrass at about $5 a sample, instead of $300 to $2,000 per sample using conventional analytical methods.

 

The calibrations developed in this study -- and improved future versions -- can be used in all aspects of plant research, including basic genetics and harvest and storage research for a variety of perennial grasses. The NIRS equations are already being used for developing new cultivars in ARS breeding programs in Nebraska and Wisconsin.

 

This method also can be used to find ways to grow grasses for the highest ethanol yields.

 

Return to Top

 

 

End Transmission