October 2005

Pesticide Potpourri

• A man accused of triggering a skirmish with police at a biotech protest, during which an officer died of a heart attack was ordered September 19 to stand trial on charges of aggravated assault. Assistant District Attorney Michael Barry was cited as arguing that Guillaume Beaulieu, 23, of Quebec, intended to start a brawl by dumping water on an officer during a June 21 protest at the convention of the Biotechnology Industry Organization in Philadelphia. Another officer who was on the fringe of the ensuing scuffle collapsed of a heart attack and later died. (AP, 9/20/05).

• At the end of September, industry participants announced that the U.S. corn harvest after this summer's drought may turn 2005 into a hallmark year in the genetic modification of plants. If government predictions are correct, corn production this year will be the second-highest in U.S. history, despite the droughts in major corn- producing states, such as Indiana and Illinois, and corn experts give much credit to the widespread use of corn that has been genetically modified to protect from root worm, making them more resilient to adverse weather conditions. A trader at Alaron Trading Corp, a Chicago-based futures trading firm, was quoted as saying, "This year is the fourth-driest summer in 100 years with over 60% of the U.S. grain belt in a drought, yet we're seeing yields that are far greater than before. Ten years ago without genetically altered corn, (the drought) may have cut production by two to two and a half billion bushels, and that this year, the decline is about 1.2 billion bushels”. The last time it was this hot was the summer of 1995. That drought, although more severe, stifled production. The corn price doubled that year, reaching a high of $5.50 a bushel. But now, corn futures expiring in December closed at just over $2. A crop analyst at Midland Research Inc. in Chicago was cited as saying that corn is now a completely different product, adding, "Weather now has just a modest impact on the harvest." In 2005, one in three bushels of Illinois corn was genetically modified and more than half of the nation's corn is genetically modified. For fifth-generation farmer Leon Corzine, genetically modified crops have changed his life in more ways than just how intently he listens to the weatherman. Harvests on his soybean and corn farm in Assumption, IL, have grown by 30% in the seven years he has been using the technology. (Medill News Service, 9/30/05).

• Farmers in about a dozen drought-stricken counties in eastern Iowa are suffering more woes as grain elevators turn away their crops because of a toxin encouraged by the dry weather. Virgil Schmitt, a crop specialist for Iowa State University Extension, was cited as saying the problem is with aflatoxin, caused by a mold that grows in kernels damaged by insects or heat stress while they are still on the stalk, adding, "We had a very hot, dry summer here, and we did have the right conditions for the mold to enter the kernels." Other areas of the country that suffered drought conditions also have recorded high aflatoxin levels, including parts of Texas. In Iowa, the problem came to light mostly in the southeastern part of the state over the past three weeks as farmers harvested their fields and headed to the grain elevators. Some elevators have turned away loads of corn, and other loads have been rejected by processors, Extension officials said. No figures were available on how much grain was found to contain high levels of aflatoxin. The Food and Drug Administration has set limits on how much aflatoxin can go into general trade at 20 parts per billion (PPB). Schmitt said much of the grain Extension is seeing is measuring in at between just over 20 PPB to about 100 PPB. (AP, 10/5/05).

• Asian soybean rust (ASR) has been found in several southern Alabama fields since early September, but none has been identified in the northern part of the state. According to an Extension agent, the most interesting case was one of a commercial field in Baldwin County. The grower had 50 or 60 acres he treated with Stratego® (propiconazole + trifloxystrobin) about 21 days apart. He put the first application on before knowing the disease was in his crop. There was very little defoliation. Across the road from the main field, the producer has a one-acre soybean patch - a different variety in the same maturity group. Unable to spray the patch, he left it as a check and the patch was hit hard by ASR. But right across the street, where he sprayed twice, the crop was protected from ASR. The anecdotal accounts in this piece illustrate the ASR situation in the states on the Gulf of Mexico. Depending upon local weather conditions, ASR spores may land on unprotected soybeans or on those recently sprayed with fungicides. Those growers who sprayed with fungicide will likely have an advantage over those who have not yet sprayed. (Southeast Farm Press, 9/15/05).

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