Posts Tagged: alfalfa
Can GE and non-GE alfalfas co-exist?
I’m referring, of course, to the release of Roundup Ready alfalfa (RRA) in 2005 and the subsequent lawsuit that stopped its planting from 2007 until 2011 – a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court!
The drama continues today with newly minted lawsuits, as farmers once again plant RRA and conventional alfalfa throughout the U.S. But what does this ballyhoo mean for those who actually grow alfalfa?
At the heart of the controversy is co-existence: whether cross-pollination from GE alfalfa would completely prevent organic or other growers who didn’t want GE alfalfa from practicing agriculture as they see fit. Or, alternatively, whether farmers can adopt methods to avoid undue neighbor influence or contamination.
Successful coexistence can be defined as the ability of diverse production systems (organic, GE-adopting, conventional) to thrive without excessive neighbor influence, or resorting to extraordinary protection measures.
Is co-existence possible? The answer is a definitive “yes” based on both history and principle. Agriculture is replete with examples of farmers adjusting and cooperating to make diverse systems work. In principle, there is no technical reason that diverse farming practices cannot co-exist.
So if you produce alfalfa for organic, export or other markets that don’t want GE crops, what is required? The answer is very different for those who grow alfalfa for hay vs. those who produce seed. Seed requires considerable isolation distances to prevent contamination – and always has.
For hay, a series of steps can reduce this risk to very low levels.
The first, and most important step is to plant seed tested and determined as non-GE. Plenty of conventional seed is available, as are inexpensive testing methods to assure that the seed is non-GE. Seed companies have committed to produce conventional seed in the future, including seed destined for GE-sensitive markets.
The next step is to assure that contamination doesn’t happen during harvest – through partial bales moving in balers from field to field or accidental misidentification of hay lots. This is likely the second-highest risk of contamination.
The lowest – but not zero – risk of contamination in hay: inadvertent gene flow from hayfield to hayfield.
Neighbors can reduce this risk further by: 1) Controlling unharvested plants on field edges and feral alfalfa along roadsides to prevent seed production; 2) Routinely harvesting hay to prevent excessive flowering; and 3) Completely removing crop before excessive flowering or seed production. Crop removal prevents permanent contamination, since seed must fall to the ground and grow into new plants to contaminate hayfields.
Lastly, it is important to understand thresholds or market tolerance.
Does a single RRA stem, accidently baled in a 200-ton lot of conventional hay (containing billions of stems), constitute contamination? This will be market-determined. Commercially available test strips will likely satisfy most if not all sensitive markets of a hay product’s non-GE status. All markets have thresholds for contaminants, and there is no reason to believe this to be an exception.
In short, methods are readily available to assure an alfalfa crop’s non-GE status, even as neighbors start growing GE alfalfa. These require a higher awareness of gene flow and other avenues of contamination, but do not appear to be onerous or difficult.
We also should not underestimate the importance of mutual respect and willingness to cooperate among parties as keys to a co-existence strategy. It is axiomatic that coexistence is impossible if parties are unwilling to listen to each other, allow a diversity of viewpoints or develop a way to resolve disputes.
The alfalfa industry has largely stepped forward to support diverse systems within the agricultural landscape and needs to continue to do so. This has been the case with National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance efforts to promote coexistence over the past 5 years, which continue today (see their website). Seed companies and growers continue to negotiate isolation distances for production of GE and non-GE seed. Likewise, hay farmers have demonstrated co-existence by growing RRA and organic alfalfa successfully on the same farms.
This year in California’s Imperial Valley, seed, hay and organic growers, exporters and seed companies have met extensively and decided to prohibit RRA in their region due to the close proximity of seed, hay, biological factors and the importance of seed and hay exports.
These are examples of “bottom-up” co-existence approaches led largely by farmers and companies – in contrast to regulations decided in Washington or through the courts.
The concept of right-to-farm and co-existence between neighbors and diverse industries is not new to agriculture. Yet the introduction of GE alfalfa and its potential influence on neighboring farmers requires improved co-existence strategies for alfalfa.
(This article was first printed in Hay and Forage Grower magazine.)
Alfalfa hay price skyrockets
Good news for alfalfa growers is bad news for dairy producers. High demand for alfalfa hay and a small crop in the United States has resulted in a price hike of more than 50 percent, according to the Merced Sun-Star. In Merced, supreme alfalfa hay is pulling in $275 to $285 a ton.
"Alfalfa hay is a very important part of a lactating cow's diet, because cows need the fiber and the protein from alfalfa," Castillo was quoted.
Milk is in demand around the world, spurring the growth of dairies and creating a market for U.S. alfalfa abroad.
"We are selling a lot of alfalfa hay to Japan and China," Castillo said. "They have dairies there that have California technology."
Drought in some parts of the U.S. means there's less grass for grazing cattle. The grass has to be replaced with hay, putting more demand on the already stretched hay supply.
Alfalfa is an important part of a lactating cow's diet.
Biomass may help solve world energy problems
UC Cooperative Extension forage specialist Dan Putnam believes California farmers need to envision and implement biomass-based, highly productive food, fuel and energy production systems to meet the increasing demands of the growing world population.
Putnam's thoughts were written up by reporter Cary Blake and posted yesterday on the Western Farm Press website.
The article noted that one biomass crop showing potential in California is switchgrass, which is grown in other parts of the country for forage. Putnam has four switchgrass trials underway.
"The switchgrass yields, especially in the Central Valley, California trials, are quite impressive on good soils with irrigation," Putnam was quoted in the story. "Yields have reached 18 tons per acre — some of the highest switchgrass yields recorded in the nation."
The fact that switchgrass may not need water year round is another favorable attribute. The plant's deep root system enables it to survive in low water conditions.
"This is very encouraging, especially in California where water supplies are an ongoing concern," Putnam said.
Putnam urged farmers to cautiously investigate biomass to determine how it may fit into their diversification portfolio.
"The next few years should be an exciting ride for U.S. agriculture in terms of new opportunities in the energy sector," Blake wrote in closing.
Switchgrass is a possible biofuel crop.
Scientists concerned about California's alfalfa crop
UC scientists are perplexed and concerned about the condition of California alfalfa fields this spring. Alfalfa should be a lush, green carpet, but in many areas, there are patches that appear dead; in some cases, entire fields have been reduced to bare ground, according to UC Davis Cooperative Extension alfalfa specialist Dan Putnum.
Although scientists caution that there may be several factors contributing to this damage, stem nematode symptoms are present and the pest has been observed in lab tests. Alfafa stem nematode is a voracious microscopic pest that is generally present in Valley soils, but rarely becomes such a severe problem.
UC News and Information Outreach distributed a news release yesterday to get the word out about possible causes of the poor alfalfa stands, but the situation in alfalfa continues to unfold.
Putnam said that, in touring the fields on Tuesday, he could not identify a pattern related to alfalfa variety or pesticide regime. Different dormancy groups seemed equally affected.
"There was a little phytophtora damage deep on some roots, but most roots were relatively healthy. There were some fields with very great damage, and others without as much damage, but this could certainly be a result of crop rotation factors or lack of equipment or water transfer, as much as variety or pesticide patterns," he reported.
Putnam said most symptoms appear to be from stem nematode. However, because it is so unusually severe, scientists are keeping their options open.
UC Davis CE nematology specialist Lynn Westerdahl said scientists are considering gene sequencing to try to understand the pest and why it appears to be wreaking havoc in California alfalfa.
Stay tuned.