Dear Organic Growers
as you can see by this email, this info is intended for those wishing to plant and/or purchase more GMO round up ready alfalfa. There is an injunction on this in the US District Court for Norhtern District of California on the seed, prohibiting further sale and the seed that has yet to be planted must be planted by March 30. There are further hearings to see what are the implications. Well I am no expert but I cannot imagine it is even necessary to spray round up on a perennial crop (alfalfa) if the farmer plants "smartly" using proper soil management to establish the crop then with proper cuttings would not need further weed control. This I see, as one more way to assure resistant weeds (a problem for the non organic farmer who uses round up) but also increases the risk for exposure of round up to organic farms. This is your opportunity to have "the other side" be heard too. They will listen about the resistance of weeds to round up, so you may want to approach this matter from that perspective, to be heard.
Here is the info and please not the attatchements too.
All the best
Vicki Morrone
________________________________
From: Field Crops AOE on behalf of David Hillger
Sent: Thu 3/15/2007 3:24 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Roundup Ready Court Case
Hello,
I wanted to update everyone about a legal development that may affect several of our growers in Michigan. For the last month or so, a legal battle has been occurring concerning the procedures the USDA followed when it approved the release of glyphosate-resistant alfalfa (Roundup Ready Alfalfa) in 2005. The most recent development in this battle has resulted in a temporary injunction in the planting of glyphosate-resistant alfalfa. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has placed limits on the purchase and planting of seed until further hearings are held.
Essentially, only glyphosate-resistant alfalfa seed purchased before March 12th, 2007 can be planted and it must be planted by March 30th, 2007. Any new alfalfa seeding after March 30th, 2007 must be non-genetically engineered alfalfa.
This court order does not affect established alfalfa. Established glyphosate-resistant alfalfa can still be harvested.
This effectively means that until these matters are resolved, no additional glyphosate-resistant alfalfa can be planted for production in the United States.
The court is scheduled to hear arguments on the implications of a permanent ban on April, 27th, 2007. At that point, the judge will make his ruling, which I am sure will be appealed by the losing party. As more information becomes available, I will be sure to pass it along. For your convenience, I have attached the court papers and a couple new releases that talk about this injunction.
Please make sure your growers who were considering planting glyphosate-resistant alfalfa are aware of these developments and that they need to consult their seed dealers before planted alfalfa this spring.
Regards,
David Hillger
David Hillger, Post-doc Research Associate
Michigan State University, Dept of Crop and Soil Sciences
478 Plant and Soil Sciences Building
East Lansing, MI 48824
(517) 355-0271 ext.1230 - office
(517) 927-0892 work mobile
(517) 488-2401 personal mobile
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