Geertson: “The issue of hard seed is one of the most important issues, as this is continuing contamination. When you raise an alfalfa field and harvest the seed, you always drop on the ground a fairly large percentage of the seed. As seed growers we try to combine it and do the best that we can. But, often times, with weather conditions and wind, it will blow the seed out. Those alfalfa seed fields, particularly if they are grown for three or four years, have a very high buildup of the seed in the ground, … and that hard seed can last for years. I’ve seen fields come up almost with a solid stand of alfalfa four years after it had any alfalfa grown in it because of the hard seed. We’re saying that that should be analyzed. So far, indications are that they’re just going to gloss over that, whitewash and say there isn’t anything to this hard seed thing.
     “The other thing is the cross-pollination and the transfer into the feral alfalfa plants around, on county roads, right of ways and other areas. And in city lots. Those are typically sprayed with glyphosate and when that is done and repeatedly sprayed there, those plants over a period of time are going to be 100% Roundup Ready. Then there will be absolutely no way you can go in there and control those in the future. So this report that you’re going to come up with has to acknowledge that once Roundup Ready alfalfa is thoroughly through the environment, it will never be able to be recalled. Now if the public says that’s okay … I won’t say any more. But I don’t think the general public is going to accept that. And there are a lot of people who want to eat organic food. If you allow this to happen, you’re going to destroy the organic business. I don’t think in your environmental impact statement that you can say that that is an insignificant effect and that you can go and deregulate Roundup Ready alfalfa. Those are the issues and that’s the reason I don’t think Roundup Ready alfalfa is ever going to see daylight again as far as being legally sold.”

Huberty: “For the environmental impact statement itself, we will be analyzing the effects of hard seed, the event of gene flow between seed and feral and hay – all of those issues will be addressed as well as the impact of Roundup Ready alfalfa and the impact on organic business.”

Are you going to have so-called controls out and test random fields for the Roundup Ready gene in alfalfa?

McCaslin: “We’re doing that today. We’re testing all of our conventional seed lots as they come in from the field and then we’re doing random tests of grab samples (of conventional seed).”

Geertson: “There is a good way that you can test the seed that you buy this spring. When you plant your fields, over-plant a little area and then spray it with Roundup after it comes up. If there are any surviving (alfalfa) plants out there you will know that you are contaminated. I hope that you will inform the state department of ag and have them come out and take a look at it and then send the information on to me.”