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By Robert Pore
From: Grand Island Independent
A decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Friday to issue a "partial deregulation" for the most popular variety of sugar beets, Roundup Ready (RR) sugar beets, which are genetically engineered to tolerate the herbicide glyphosate, will benefit Nebraska sugar beet growers, said Sen. Ben. Nelson, D-Neb.
Nelson said the USDA decision allowing planting this spring of Roundup Ready sugar beets will provide needed stability in a vital part of Nebraska's economy.
"The USDA's decision is good news because it delivers the certainty Nebraska's sugar beet producers need this year and that will strengthen jobs and the Nebraska economy," he said. "By approving the continued planting of Roundup Ready beets, our producers and rural communities can look forward to a productive season and economic stability.
According to the USDA, the "partial" deregulation is necessary so growers can begin spring planting while the USDA completes a comprehensive environmental impact statement (EIS) ordered by a District Court ruling in August 2010. The EIS will further analyze the potential environmental impact of the crop.
USDA said it has authority to allow limited planting, as long as it complies with the National Environmental Policy, the Plant Protection Act and the Administrative Procedures Act.
Nelson said the USDA decision will be beneficial to Nebraska's Panhandle, where he said sugar beet production supports hundreds of jobs and contributes more than $130 million annually to the state's economy through payrolls and property taxes.
According to one USDA study, he said, halting the use of Roundup Ready beets would cause sugar beet production to plunge by 37 percent in the U.S., having a "devastating impact on jobs and rural communities."
Nebraska is the 6th largest sugar beet-producing state. According to the Nebraska Sugarbeet Growers Association, Nebraska has about 300 sugar beet growers who produce 55,000 acres and more than 1 million tons of beets annually. Along with producers, several hundred other Nebraskans work in jobs related to beet production, at terminals and in trucking.
In 2009, the USDA said there were 52,600 acres of sugar beets harvested in Nebraska for a total production of 1.294 million pounds.
Nelson said Roundup Ready sugar beets were deregulated by USDA in 2005, and were quickly embraced by growers because their resistance to the weed killer makes them less costly to grow. Farmers across the U.S. and Canada, he said, used the technology on their farms, creating the fastest adoption of any biotech crop to date.
However, in January 2008 the use of the Roundup Ready beets was challenged in court, Nelson said. Last August, a San Francisco judge ordered Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to put Monsanto's Genuity Roundup Ready sugar beets back under USDA regulation, but did not impose any immediate ban on further planting, cultivation, and processing.
Nelson said Roundup Ready sugar beets represent about 95 percent of the sugar beets planted in the United States.
On Nov. 2, 2010, Nelson said, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced the availability of a draft environmental impact statement evaluating alternatives for approving future cultivation of Roundup Ready beets, pending completion of a full-scale environmental impact statement.
Last Friday, USDA released the framework allowing producers to plant sugar beets in 2011, while finishing the environmental impact statement by 2012.
According to Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), sugar beets are planted on more than one million acres in 10 states and produce nearly half the nation's sugar supply.
"The ongoing litigation has created uncertainty for farmers, sugar producers, technology providers and researchers, which in turn has hurt our agriculture sector and rural economies," Greenwood said.
He said farmers have "overwhelmingly" embraced biotech crops with nearly 95 percent of sugar beet farmers choosing to plant Roundup Ready beets.
"This technology has produced record harvests in recent years and increased farmer profitability while minimizing on-farm labor and environmental impact," Greenwood said.
In January, the USDA allowed the use of Roundup Ready alfalfa. More than 1 million acres of alfalfa are growns in Nebraska. Also, genetically modified varieties of corn and soybeans are planted on more than 12 million state acres.
Greenwood said biotechnology can help crops thrive in drought-prone areas, improve the nutrition content of foods, grow alternative energy sources and improve the lives of farmers and rural communities around the globe.
"In order to realize the potential economic, environmental and productivity benefits, the U.S. government must embrace scientific innovation, listen to growers' needs and support all types of production practices," he said. "Consumers will be better served by farmers who have choices, access to technologies and confidence in a regulatory system that is based on sound science."
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