Amended Ruling on Roundup Ready Alfalfa

Mark Renz, UW-Madison Extension Weed Scientist 

• The court will not require Roundup Ready hay to be stored in containers that are specifically labeled as long as the alfalfa remains on the farm of origin, but will still require that Roundup Ready alfalfa be properly labeled if it leaves the farm where it was grown.
• The initial ruling was to require farmers to submit protocols for cleaning equipment used to harvest Roundup Ready alfalfa. Due to the fact that the initial guidelines were written for planting alfalfa seed and not hay, APHIS convinced the judge to amend his decision and instead allow APHIS to disseminate a best practices guide on managing hay and seed to prevent contamination of the Roundup Ready gene. APHIS will mail these guides to Roundup Ready alfalfa growers by 7/13/07 in lieu of requiring the government’s prior approval of each farmer’s specific cleaning procedures.
• The judge extended the deadline for Monsanto and Forage Genetics to provide locations of Roundup Ready alfalfa fields as they are having difficulty in locating some fields, particularly in the Eastern United States.
• The last potential amendment to the ruling involves the public disclosure of the location of all Roundup Ready alfalfa seed and hay fields. Currently, involved parties are negotiating on exactly how this will occur. The judge emphasized that process must be conducted by the government and provide specifics as to
  • how farmers make inquiries
  • what information the farmers have to provide
  • what precise information the government disclose in return
  • how quickly will the government provide the response