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You are here: Brandon Sun > Agricult ure > Agricult ure Breaking News > GOVERNMENT COULD ELIMINATE RESTRICTIONS ON CORN, SOYBEAN SEEDS MODIFIED
TO RESIST WEED KILLER
AGRICULTURE BREAKING NEWS
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The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION
Government could eliminate restrictions on corn,
soybean seeds modified to resist weed killer
By: M. L. Johnson, The Associ at e d Pre ss
Friday, Jan. 3, 2014 at 4:29 PM | Comme nt s: 0
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January 6 , 2014
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This July 5, 2008 file photo shows a farmer holding Monsanto's Roundup Ready Soy Bean seeds at
his family farm in Bunceton, Mo. MTHE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Dan Gill
MILWAUKEE - The f ederal government on Friday proposed eliminating restrictions on the use of
corn and soybean seeds genetically engineered to resist a common weed killer, a move welcomed
by many f armers but f eared by scientists and environmentalists who worry it could invite growers to
use more chemicals.
The herbicide known as 2,4-D has had limited use in corn and soybean f arming because it becomes
toxic to the plants early in their growth. The new seeds would allow f armers to use the weed killer
throughout the plants' lives.
Farmers have been eager f or a new generation of herbicide-resistant seeds because of the
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prevalence of weeds that have become immune to Monsanto's Roundup. But skeptics are
concerned that use of the new seeds and 2,4-D will only lead to similar problems as weeds acquire
resistance to that chemical too.
"It's just so clear. You can see that you have this pesticide treadmill ef f ect," said Bill Freese, a
chemist with the Washington, D.C.-based Center For Food Saf ety, which promotes organic
agriculture.
Most corn and soybeans grown in the U.S. are already genetically engineered, largely to resist
Roundup, which was introduced in 1976. Bef ore that, most f armers tilled their f ields prior to
planting, f lipping the soil over and burying the weeds to kill them. The technique also exposed tilled
earth to the air, creating problems with erosion and runof f .
Herbicide-resistant seeds permitted most f armers to stop tilling because they could spray f ields
af ter their plants emerged, killing the weeds but leaving crops unharmed.
The new generation of plants "allowed us to do a better job of controlling the weeds, and
theref ore, we've been able to do a better job of preserving the soil, which is our primary natural
resource," said Ron Moore, who grows 2,000 acres of corn and soybeans with his brother in
western Illinois.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's plant-inspection agency concluded that the greatest risk f rom
the new seeds developed by Dow AgroSciences was increased use of 2,4-D, which could hasten
the evolution of weeds resistant to it.
But, the agency said, resistance could develop anyway because 2,4-D is the third most-used weed-
killer in the nation.
Freese and other advocates also raised concerns about possible health risks f rom increased use
of 2,4-D and the chemical's tendency to drif t beyond the area where it is sprayed, threatening
neighbouring crops and wild plants.
Dow AgroSciences has attempted to address that by developing a new version of 2,4-D and new
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Dow AgroSciences has attempted to address that by developing a new version of 2,4-D and new
equipment to use with it, company spokesman Garry Hamlin said.
The seeds and new 2,4-D have been approved in Canada but not yet sold there. The company has
targeted their release in the U.S. f or 2015, pending approval by various f ederal agencies. In
anticipation of that, it has received import approval f rom seven nations and has applications
pending in about six others to allow f armers who use the seeds sold under the Enlist brand to
export their crops.
For now, the seeds can only be used in tightly controlled trials.
The Center f or Food Saf ety and the environmental group Earthjustice threatened legal action if the
restrictions are lif ted.
The public has 45 days to comment on the USDA report published Friday as part of the
deregulation process. The Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a separate review on the
impact of expanded use of 2,4-D, although it previously f ound the herbicide saf e.
The EPA plans to release a report in the coming months, and the two agencies are expected to
make f inal decisions simultaneously on use of the chemical and seeds. It was not clear when that
would happen.
Dow AgroSciences has asked the USDA to deregulate one corn and two soybean varieties, all
resistant to both 2,4-D and glyphosate, the generic f orm of Roundup.
The USDA said f armers could help curb resistance to 2,4-D by using a variety of means to f ight
weeds and not relying solely on the one herbicide.
Eighty-six per cent of corn, soybean and cotton f armers in the South and 74 per cent of those in
the Midwest have had problems with hard-to-control weeds, Hamlin said, citing private data f rom
agricultural services.
"These growers need new tools," he said.
Moore said he currently uses both glyphosate and another herbicide in an ef f ort to discourage
resistance. He was not certain whether he would use the Enlist seeds and 2,4-D if that became an
option because he has not had problems with Roundup resistance.
But he said he knows f amers who have had trouble, and some have gone back to tilling. Weeds
cannot be lef t in f ields because they suck up the nutrients, water and sunlight meant f or crops.
"Those are the three things that plants all need to grow," Moore said. "I don't want anything
competing with my soybeans."
Freese said he would rather see f armers use organic means to control weeds, perhaps by using
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cover crops that go into the ground af ter the harvest to hold soil in place and deter weeds until the
next year's growing season.
Among its critics, 2,4-D is best known as a component of the Vietnam War-era herbicide Agent
Orange, which has not been produced since the 1970s.
Agent Orange has been tied to health problems in Vietnam veterans, but scientists do not believe
2,4-D was the culprit. Instead, their research f ocused on dioxin, a cancer-causing substance f ound
in another ingredient known as 2,4,5-T, which was banned by the EPA in 1985.
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