Extension Communications
3614 Administrative Services Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3614
(515) 294-9915
1/5/00
Contacts:
Charles R. Hurburgh, Jr., Department of Agricultural and
Biosystems Engineering, (515) 294-8629, tatry@iastate.edu
Roger Ginder, Department of Economics, (515) 294-6260,
ginder@iastate.edu
Robert Wisner, Department of Economics, (515) 294-6310,
rwwisner@iastate.edu
Elaine Edwards, Extension Communication Systems, (515)
294-5168, eedwards@iastate.edu
Seed Purchase Alternatives
AMES, Iowa -- Iowa producers need to review their alternatives before purchasing seed for next year's crops. Considerations such as changing market demands, participating in special marketing programs and isolating corn fields may be important depending on the progress of biotechnology issues, said Iowa State University specialists.
Crops planted this spring will have to meet market demands 18 months after planting. "Right now, very few people know what those demands will be. Things are changing day to day, and it's hard to predict what the level of demand will be or what the premiums might be," said Roger Ginder, ISU Extension economist.
Many Iowa-grown crops will be affected by labeling requirements, such as those currently in effect in the European Union and those that go into effect next year in Korea and Japan (see sidebar). Genetically modified organism (GMO) grain refers to crops grown from biotechnology enhanced seed, grain which has agronomically desirable traits such as herbicide and insect resistance.
"The potential demand for GMOs is changing rapidly, and the current market situation is not necessarily a true indicator of what it will be next year," said Robert Wisner, ISU Extension economist.
"Producers should check with their usual markets to see if there are any restrictions on GMO grain sales, or if any are expected before the 2000 marketing year," said Charles Hurburgh, ISU grain quality specialist. "This will be particularly important in forward contracting agreements; producers are advised to read the contract terms carefully. Then carefully assess the risk of potential restrictions in the markets you normally supply. This assessment will be individual to each producer because of the varied markets across the state."
Special marketing programs for non-GMO crops may expand. "If you are considering participation in a special marketing program for non-GMO crops, recognize that purity of grain begins with purity of seed. Ask your seed suppliers for certification of non-GMO purity on the lots you receive," advised Hurburgh. "With some buyers, notably the European Union, discussing 1 percent as a tolerance level for GMO seeds in designated non-GMO shipments, even a small amount of initial mixing at the seed level can effectively use up all the tolerance before any handling operations occur." Use lot numbers to record where seed is planted.
For situations in which GMO crops clearly fit the economic and agronomic aspects of the farm business, there probably will be a significant market for the product, without price discounts, but this is not known for certain. Where non-GMO crops fit into the farming operation, there is negligible risk of price discounts and an unknown chance that some markets may offer a price premium, Wisner said.
"If you order non-GMO seed this winter and decide later to shift to GMO varieties, you likely will have no trouble doing so," Wisner advised. "But it may be very hard to make the shift if your initial order is GMO and you decide to shift it later to non-GMO varieties."
Other considerations:
* Expect to carefully clean planting equipment between GMO and non-GMO fields.
* Know where you will plant your crop. Second-year crop (without rotation) can present difficulties because of volunteer plants from the previous year -- a potential problem if the previous year's crop was GMO, Hurburgh said. Rotation allows control by herbicide or manual weeding.
* Be aware of the possibility of separate testing of other grains (e.g. corn in soybean samples) for GMO status as well as being counted in the usual way as foreign material. This could apply to soybeans in corn samples as well.
* Isolate non-GMO cornfields as far away as possible from other GMO cornfields. There are varying opinions about distance of pollen drift; the seed industry uses 1,000 ft. as minimum isolation distance.
"You may want to check with your neighbors to find out what kind of seed they will be planting," advised Ginder. For example, many organic producers try to coordinate with neighbors to minimize pollen drift problems, he said.
ml: isufarm
Sidebar news release, Food Labeling Affects Iowa Crops.
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