A federal judge’s decision has soured one of the sweetest outlooks sugar beet growers have seen in years.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White on Friday banned planting of genetically modified sugar beets until regulators complete a more thorough review of how the scientifically engineered beets affect other seed crops.
That means growers might not be able to plant modified seeds in 2011 — the decision does not affect the 2010 crop which is about a month away from harvest.
The decision’s timing shocked the sugar beet industry, which only 10 days earlier was anticipating one of the more profitable and productive years on record.
At the International Sugar Symposium held in early August in Vail, Colo., Duane Grant, who farms near Rupert and is chairman of the Snake River Cooperative, ran down a list of positives facing the sugar industry. They included a strong market outlook through at least 2011, congressional support for the sugar program in the next farm bill and a favorable trade policy.
But all that was overshadowed Monday morning when news of White’s decision spread like wildfire among growers and processors.
White ruled nearly a year ago that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was out of line when it completed an environmental assessment rather than a full environmental impact statement before deregulating Roundup Ready sugar beets in 2005.
Growers hoped he would vacate that decision after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruled in late June that a complete ban on Roundup Ready alfalfa was too restrictive.
White remanded the case to the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, the USDA agency charged with regulating the genetically modified seed. That means APHIS has the authority to determine if Roundup Ready beet seed can be planted until the full environmental study is completed.
“APHIS must weigh its regulatory authority against the sugar beet industry’s need to provide adequate sugar supplies,” Grant said.
The Center for Food Safety, which filed suit in 2008 to stop planting Roundup Ready sugar beet seed, has argued that the seed crop will cross pollinate with organic seed crops. Environmental groups also argued that the technology leads to increased herbicide use and a greater prevalence of herbicide-resistant weeds. They have also claimed that growers can easily switch back to conventional seed.
But Grant said conventional seed is in short supply and growers — especially those in the western U.S. — wouldn’t grow conventional seed even if it was readily available.
“The reality is that the industry has transitioned away from conventional seed,” he said.
Manufacturers of the herbicides needed for conventional production have largely stopped making those products because 95 percent of the beets grown in the U.S. last year were Roundup Ready. Growers have also sold cultivators and other equipment needed for conventional production and upgraded their spray equipment.
“All of that cannot be undone in a six-month time window,” Grant said.
Amalgamated Sugar Company, which which employs more than 1,300 full-time employees and 650 seasonal employees, with a $1.1 billion annual economic impact in Idaho, has no conventional varieties in its seed development program.
Grant, who learned of the judge’s decision Friday evening, said he was surprised the decision was reached so early since a hearing had been held only hours before the decision was announced on Friday.
