TRANSGENIC:HOW THEY AFFECT ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN NORTH DAKOTA

Brad Brummond NDSU Extension Service/

Walsh County 2002

NORTH DAKOTA

First in organic grain production 90,000 acres certified production

UNITED STATES

1992-1997 certified organic cropland has more then doubled

Medium term growth rates 22%

IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE

Viable, fast growing segment of agriculture in ND, U.S. and world

PROBLEMS FACING ORGANIC AGRICULTURE

Organic standards have no set tolerances

Growing acreage of GMO crops in North Dakota and United States

UP of organic grains with GMO material will decertify it

Possible loss of markets

CHALLENGES FACING THE ORGANIC INDUSTRY IN NORTH DAKOTA

KEEPING SEED SUPPLY FREE OF U.P.

Growing acreage of transgenic soybeans, corn and canola pollen drift and insects

Concern about purity of North Dakota Seedstock Program

POLLEN DRIFT

Seen as one of the biggest threats to organic crops abandonment of certified organic

canola production by most producers Organic growers trying to to

develop procedures to deal with this

UNINTENDED PRESENCE WITHIN THE SYSTEM

Some buyers will reject anything over Zero

Almost impossible to clean last seed out of equipment and facilities

LONG TERM ENVIROMENTAL AFFECTS

STEPS FOR OVERCOMING

COMMUNICATION HAS BEGUN

Organic producers, breeders, North Dakota Seedstock Program, organic certifiers, Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society and Extension have begun communicating on this issue

FARMERS BREEDING CLUB PROJECT

Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society (NPSAS) has started training farmers to make seed selections

Goal is to develop alternative seed system

Project is under funded at this point

EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS

NPSAS and other organic organizations are providing training sessions for farmers

Certification groups are developing procedures to try to reduce risk

Resolutions have been drafted on transgenic crops by NPSAS

Organic community is organizing

STARTING WITH CLEAN SEED

Buy organically grown seed when possible

Test every lot of seed before your buy for contamination

SEPERATION BY TIMING OF PLANTING

Planting organic corn later then GMO corn goal is to try and get 5 to 10 day

difference in bloom

DILIGENCE THROUGH DISTANCE

Organic farmers consult with conventional neighbors put organic production as far away as

possible from transgenic fields separate far enough so bees should

not carry pollen between fields

FACILITY AND EQUIPMENT CONTAMINATION

Producers are trying to use equipment and facilities that have never had transgenic products in them

Clean out affidavits on other items being used

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH CERTIFIERS

Certification organizations are developing standards and protocols

You need to know what is required of you

SUMMARY

Communication Diligence Stay informed

SOLUTIONS????

Communications Coexistence working group

Identify issues Gather information Make recommendations Disseminate findings

OBJECTIVES OF WORKING GROUP

Identify issues Gather information Promote understanding between

systems Develop BMPs Education

HISTORY

Pilot group 2 meetings 2001 Original organic groups, NDSU and

state personnel Decided to include all stakeholders

and write grant SARE grant

GROUP MEMBERS

Farmers Organic Conventional IP Biotech

GROUP MEMBERS

University ND Depts. Biotech industry Organic groups

ORDER OF BUSINESS

Id issues Gather information Make decisions Disseminate decisons

ISSUES IDENTIFIED

Liability Where does it lie for U.P.

Farmers, industry, NDSU Genetic drift (UP) Commingling

LAND GRANT RESEARCH FUNDING

Public crop variety research and development

NDSU mission relating to germplasm maintance and varietal development

Relationship to private companies

SEGREAGATION/PURITY

Segregation Can it be done and if so how?

Purity How do we keep things separate

Monitoring

TOLERANCE

What is acceptable? Market requirements NOP

Is zero realistic? Sampling Testing

GERMPLASM

Who has the right of access Multiple systems for plant

development Access to and development of non-

transgenic seed Long term storage viability of

germplasm base

Germplasm

Implications of patented varieties Consolidation in the seed industry

STANDARDS

Protocols for research and development of seed increase

Protocols for commercial seed production

Education of growers

CONSEQUENCES

Cost /benefit of current commercial transgenic crops

Future transgenic development IP infrastructure for added value

and rural development

NEIGHBORS

Need for farmer education and communication

Isolation buffers/responsibilities

CONSUMER CONCERNS

Consumer perceptions, attitudes and education

Labeling costs and benefitsConsumer choice

Food feed and environment

REQUIREMENTS

Decision process on commercialization of transgenic crops

This material is based upon work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, under Cooperative Agreement number 2000-38640-11923

“Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”