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Beyond the Rows is a Monsanto Company blog focused on one of the world’s most important industries, agriculture. Monsanto employees write about Monsanto’s business, the agriculture industry, and the farmer.

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Tag Archives: USDA

Monsanto fully supports USDA and wheat industry, conducts investigation into reported GM wheat detection Featured Article

Monsanto noted it remains committed to working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. wheat industry to get to the bottom of the reported detection of Roundup Ready wheat earlier this week in a single field in Oregon.

The company is in the process of conducting its own investigation into the matter and is prepared to take actions once the investigation results are known to ensure that its farmer customers and the broader wheat industry remains strong.

In order to provide information on this reported detection, its own investigation, its wheat technology and wheat business, the company … Full Article »

Tags: FDA, GM wheat, investigation, Monsanto, Oregon, USDA, Wheat

Originally published
May 31, 2013 by Monsantoco

Monsanto’s Statement on the USDA Report on GM Wheat in Oregon Featured Article

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it was investigating a detection of genetically modified, glyphosate-resistant wheat in Oregon. Monsanto issued a statement on the report, saying that the company will work with the USDA to get to the bottom of the reported detection, and that there are no food, feed or environmental safety concerns associated with the presence of the Roundup Ready gene if it is found to be present in wheat.

The full Monsanto statement can be found at Monsanto.com. We’ve also included it in full following the timeline below.

The statement by the USDA … Full Article »

Tags: APHIS, GM wheat, Monsanto, Oregon, timeline, USDA, Wheat

Originally published
May 29, 2013 by Monsantoco

USDA Intends to Prepare EIS on Dicamba- and 2,4D Tolerant Crops Featured Article

On Friday morning, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a statement of its intent to prepare two environmental impact statements (EIS) regarding the regulatory status of Dicamba-tolerant and 2,4D-tolerant crops.

Here’s Monsanto’s statement:

Monsanto to Cooperate With USDA on EIS for Next-Generation Dicamba Weed-Control Technologies, Remains Focused On Bringing New Benefits to U.S. Farmers (May 10, 2013)

Monsanto said today that it will cooperate with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) as it prepares an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the company’s next-generation dicamba weed management … Full Article »

Tags: 24D, APHIS, Cotton, dicamba, dicamba-tolerant, EIS, environmental impact statement, Soybeans, USDA

Originally published
May 10, 2013 by Monsantoco

Monsanto Statement on the Falsely Labeled ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ Featured Article

As a member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), we were pleased to support the Farmer Assurance Provision with major grower groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Seed Trade Association, the American Soybean Association, the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Cotton Council, and several others. Additional supporters included former Secretaries of Agriculture.

A broad bipartisan group of legislators in both the House and Senate have supported the provision dating back to June 2012, and it passed with broad bipartisan support.

As we understand it, the … Full Article »

Tags: Biotechnology, courts, Farmer Assurance Act, H.R. 933, Litigation, Monsanto Protection Act, Section 733, USDA

Originally published
March 28, 2013 by Monsantoco

3 Links on the Falsely Labeled ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ Featured Article

On the so-called “Monsanto Protection Act,” has anyone who’s upset about it actually read the provision itself?

Here’s NPR’s Salt on what it is and isn’t: Did Congress Just Give GMOs a Free Pass in the Courts?

The Skeptical Libertarian (blogger) actually has read what’s contained in the provision: “Monsanto Protection Act:” Anti-GMO Conspiracy Theorists Lose It Over Minor Deregulation.

Ag Professional had a story on the provision in July of 2012 (yes, it was around in July of 2012; so much for being “snuck through the system”): Anti-GMO groups protesting farmer assurance.

… Full Article »

Tags: courts, Farmer Assurance Act, Monsanto Protection Act, USDA

Originally published
March 28, 2013 by Monsantoco

I heard Monsanto Employees Control USDA, FDA, etc

Do you ever wonder if Monsanto people are making decisions about the future of the country through positions at the USDA, FDA or other government bodies? It’s a strange question but based on the Twitter search strings I see sometimes, it seems this is a theory a lot of people think is plausible. What’s the basis for the thought? A handful of Monsanto employees in the past couple of decades left the company and ended up working for the U.S. Government.

In no way, does Monsanto control the government. We simply seem to have a shared goal of hiring good … Full Article »

Tags: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment, FDA, government, industry, Michael Taylor, Monsanto, revolving door, U.S. Government, USDA

Originally published
February 15, 2012 by Janice Person

Healthy soy and soy with sudden death syndrome, side by side

Sudden Death Syndrome Making its Mark in Soybeans

I couldn’t cut it as a farmer—for a multitude of reasons—but primarily, I couldn’t stomach the business risks involved. There are risks such as weather and disease that are completely out of your hands no matter how much forethought and planning you do.

It appears that U.S. soybean farmers are facing one such risk this year with Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS), based on news reports and feedback from farmers and Monsanto sales teams. Farmers are scouting, or surveying, their fields for signs of SDS. Symptoms generally show up in July/August, but can often be mistaken for other diseases such … Full Article »

Tags: Brown Stem Rot, Farmers, Midwest, Soybeans, Sudden Death Syndrom, USDA

Originally published
August 26, 2010 by Mica Veihman

Supreme Court Decision on Biotech Alfalfa – Who Wins?

The big news kicking off the week is the U.S. Supreme Court’s 7-1 ruling to reverse a lower court’s ban on Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa product. Media reports trumpeted Monsanto’s win:

High Court Sides With Monsanto in Alfalfa Case -Wall Street Journal
Monsanto Wins as Court Backs Alfalfa Seed Planting (Update1) – Bloomberg
Monsanto wins Supreme Court ruling – Des Moines Register
Justices Back Monsanto on Biotech Seed Planting – Wall Street Journal

Then, surprisingly, the Center for Food Safety issued a statement mid-day claiming victory. According to CFS, they are “celebrating” today the victory of a 7-1 … Full Article »

Tags: APHIS, Center for Food Safety, Roundup Ready Alfalfa, sugarbeets, Supreme Court, USDA

Originally published
June 21, 2010 by Mica Veihman

Roundup Ready Alfalfa and the Supreme Court – the End of GMOs?

Today, Roundup Ready Alfalfa gets its day before the U.S. Supreme Court. And thousands of farmers will be watching and waiting—including the 5,500 farmers who planted approximately 260,000 acres of Roundup Ready alfalfa prior to the injunction.

This is significant because it’s the first time a biotech or genetically modified crop has gone before the high court. However, this case isn’t about the safety or the benefits of Roundup Ready alfalfa. It’s about whether the ban, or injunction, that’s currently in place is appropriate.

Roundup Ready alfalfa has been tied up in the court system. The product was commercialized in … Full Article »

Tags: cross pollination, EIS, Farmers, pollen drift, Roundup Ready Alfalfa, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, USDA

Originally published
April 27, 2010 by Mica Veihman

An Official Update at the Unofficial Start of 2010 Planting

Co-authored by Janice Person and Nick Weber

The unofficial start of planting season got under way today, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its 2010 Prospective Plantings report. It’s an annual report that the agency issues each March 31 as its best estimates on what farmers may plant for corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and many other crops.

The quick highlights:

A record 78.1 million acres of soybeans
88.8 million acres of corn (second-highest on record)
53.8 million acres of wheat (lowest since 1970)
10.5 million acres of cotton (15 percent higher than 2009)

According to Kansas farmer Darin … Full Article »

Tags: Corn, Cotton, Plantings Report, Soybeans, USDA, Wheat

Originally published
March 31, 2010 by Monsantoco

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