Roundup Ready Alfalfa Public Comment Period Ends Wednesday, March 3
2/27/2010 12:00 AM

Comments sent to the USDA (during a public comment period) in support of Roundup Ready® Alfalfa must be received by March 3, 2010.

You can find additional information on how to participate at www.roundupreadyalfalfa.com or you can go directly to the USDA’s comment Web site by clicking here.  Roundup Ready® Alfalfa seed is designed to resist the herbicide glyphosate (commonly known as Roundup®). That means weeds can be eliminated without hurting the alfalfa plant, enabling growers to use less herbicides—which is good for the environment—and achieve a more productive crop of alfalfa. This more productive crop results in higher alfalfa yields and higher-quality hay, providing better nutrition for livestock and greater economic value for the grower.

Roundup Ready® Alfalfa was co-developed by Forage Genetics (FGI) and Monsanto and was deregulated and commercialized in the U.S. market in 2005. But in 2007, a federal judge stopped farmers from planting Roundup Ready® Alfalfa until the USDA completed an Environmental Impact Statement. The concerns raised did not call into question the safety or potential benefits of Roundup Ready® Alfalfa, but focused on whether Roundup Ready® Alfalfa could co-exist with crops that are not genetically designed. While the court order prevented new sales of Roundup Ready® Alfalfa, the USDA has been studying Roundup Ready® Alfalfa and has written an Environmental Impact Statement.

Land O’Lakes encourages stakeholders to submit a comment during the public comment period. It is critical that all key stakeholders participate in generating and facilitating written comments to USDA in support of deregulation. Although the ongoing Environmental Impact Statement process is specifically about Roundup Ready® Alfalfa, the outcomes will set a precedence for how future traits are handled and is important to all growers that want access to technology.

If you are interested in additional background, a couple of op-ed pieces were recently published in support of Roundup Ready® Alfalfa. Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News published a piece by Greg Conko, senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, and co-founder of the AgBioWorld Foundation in Auburn, Ala. Click here to view it.  Henry Miller of Stanford has a similar piece in Forbes.com. Click here to view it.