Roundup ready Alfalfa

[PhilG]

What the….

https://www.genuity.com/specialty/Pages/GenuityRoundupReadyAlfalfa.aspx

http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/blog/2011/apr/6/don-hubers-cover-letter-euuk-commissions/

[dominiquer60]

It reminds me of Sesame Street….

Which of these things is not like the other,
which of these just doesn’t belong?

I can only hope that my neighbors don’t go for it, and it is likely since the common way to rotate out of alfalfa is fall kill it with Roundup before plowing it down to corn in the spring. Genuity would defeat their purpose of being able to fall kill alfalfa. Maybe it is a worse problem in the west, but other than a few dandelions I just don’t see weeds being a huge issue in a properly started alfalfa field. Our big problem with alfalfa is finding a well drained enough field to plant the stuff in that is larger than a postage stamp.

Erika

[Tim Harrigan]

I was at a meeting a month or so ago where the results of a long-term (5 years, I think) evaluation of RR alfalfa compared to a non-RR line was reported. They found no yield advantage, no quality advantage, no increase in # of plants per square foot over time, no benefit at all that I recall.

[Simple Living]

@Tim Harrigan 26449 wrote:

no benefit at all that I recall.

There does seem to be one benefit, unfotunatly it is in the deep pockets of Monstersanto and others just like them, not the farmer.

Gordon

[Tim Harrigan]

I found this if anyone is interested in the results of the long-term RR alfalfa trial in Michigan.

http://www.msuweeds.com/files/RRalfalfaFactSheet2011.pdf

[Andy Carson]

Thanks Tim,
This is an interesting study. One of the most suprizing things to me is that the weed control benefit (if there ever was one) seems to be lost after the first year. If you look at figure 2, you can see that there are virtually no weeds in field treated with either glycophosphate or Veplar, but after the first year, the weeds are roughly the same between untreated, glycophosphate and Veplar treated groups. It’s hard to tell this for sure, because I am looking at the presense and absence of a tiny red mark on a graph that is that is tons/acre. I would have liked to the weed population on a different scale so you can visualize differences easier, but still this is interesting… Perhaps the weeds adapt this fast? Perhaps the glycophosphate sensitive weeds are eliminated early and what is left are weeds that are are more difficult to kill with glycophosphate. Perhaps we are looking at annual weeds, although many of the weeds they list as predominant weeds are penenials. If there is weed protection for the first year, RR alfalfa might be easier to get established in an area with alot of weed pressure. It appears from the study that these benefits might be lost after the first year. I am not a big proponent of RR alfalfa, just trying to provide a different view point… Using this study, this is the only potential benefit I can see. Of course, you also get this same beenfit from using Veplar, so it might not be important to have the RR alfalfa. I think these data generally demonstrate a failure…

[pauld]

Since the Dept of Agriculture is in bed with Monsanto consumers can only get their attention by not buying GMO from the big agribusiness corps.

I would NOT want to consume ANY GMO and I have a right to know where the foodstuffs come from and how were they produced.

If the powers that be in Washington D.C. don’t get the message, they should be replaced.

[CharlyBonifaz]

If the powers that be in Washington D.C. don’t get the message, they should be replaced.

assuming down your ways it is the same as over here: big business IS the power in politics, they do know very well what they want 🙁

[dbarker4322]

The main benifit to RR alfalfa is the first cutting is as clean as the third. After a few years it will start to fade out just like the conventional stuff. We are on year 3 and it still has a stand. We spray it every year, though it usually just to test the sprayer. I see the pros and cons, but I don’t see it being as big as gmo grain crops. just my .02..

I also see the point on not wanting to consume gmo products. But remember, as you’ve read this 10 people starved to death in this world. Gmo does make it easier to grow a crop. Those 10 people wouldn’t of minded it… In my opinion it has it’s place..

[PhilG]

Wow, does that line work on your kids when you are trying to get them to eat those nasty, tasteless peas from wall mart ?
I think if you want to blame those deaths on the lack of gmo use instead of the utter devastation of their country’s environment and culture by greedy corporations backing power mongers that will pimp out their latest gadget and export natural resources , that is a bit of a stretch.

[dbarker4322]

My point wasn’t to blame “the lack of gmo”. It was to say that there would be less produced in this country as well as others..

[sean518]

More GMO crops are not going to save people from starving, and in the long term, if they’re not thoroughly tested and evaluated, they could actually contribute to starvation through adverse affects. Infertile livestock, for example.

The reason for the starvation we have in this world is political. The means and resources to produce the food that is required by the world’s population exists, it’s just not distributed/utilized due to greed, corruption, and ignorance.

[Andy Carson]

I am a little more open minded with GM crops. I have to say I am suprised that they don’t achieve really high yields, but the concept is still pretty new (compared to traditional ag) and yield improvements may only be realized after further development. I still think the concept has alot of potential for useful applications. I do think some safety concerns are reasonable and deserve study, but many safety concerns seem without precedent. Some seem to represent fear of the unknown or resentment of profitering by large corporations. Starvation is a tough issue, but I agree that is is not likely to be as simple as just producing more food in developed countries. That said, if GM can increase either the yield or nutritional value of food crops in developing countries I think this would be a useful part of a long term solution to hunger. Teh key word here is “if” and this remains to be seen in my mind. But, my mind is open to that possibility and I think it is important for everyone to look at the results of GM studies past and present with an open mind. These opinions aren’t really anything I haven’t said in other posts, I am just trying to represent a diversity of opinion on this subject. Without a diversity of opinion (and a couple of open minds), it is difficult to truly examine an issue and have an informed opinion.

[mitchmaine]

right andy,
we do have lots of opinion here, and open minds to boot. what we are lacking seems to be information. we are ready to jump headfirst into the program, and it looks like the testing fields are yours and my backyards.
nuclear power was going to be the answer to all our dreams. i remember the filmstrips back in grade school in the fifties, with the little friendly atom bouncing around doing all our work for us. any thoughts on how that turned out.
we had the greatest public transportation system on the planet. trollies and busses and trains already there, and scraped overnight for the automobile and the highway.
when some govt. talking head tells me we have top men working on something, forgive me if i can’t get too evcited. whatever it is, its going to put lots of people out of real work, and make a small number of people very rich. nope. i’m not one of the openminded. mitch

[jac]

Well put Mitch !!.. we got told the same pile of croc with nuclear power ” it will be too cheap to meter” yea right… price is just the same.. I have nothing against companies making a profit… but when they try and cheat farmers thats it for me…I read an article about our old friend Monsanto in Australia and how a flash flood had washed a gm crop onto a farmers field and get this…. they sent him a letter saying “We wont sue you for patent infringment “!!!! that was big of them… mabey if they paid the native Americans that developed the corn in the first place it wouldnt be so bad.. these guys didnt demand payment…
John

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