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OREGON: COUPLE GROWS FOOD TO SUSTAIN MONARCH BUTTERFLIES Page 4 FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 VOLUME 89, NUMBER 26 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 WHERE UNCERTAINTY After 13 years, farmers still worry about controlling escaped genetically engineered bentgrass By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press O WASHINGTON 90 GMO bentgrass in the Northwest 90 5 82 Walla Walla 97 84 cean Malheur County farmer Jerry Erstrom points out a genetically en- gineered creeping bentgrass plant June 14 on an irrigation ditch bank near Ontario, Ore. Bentgrass, also seen in the photo below, was genetically modifi ed by Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. to resist the Roundup weed killer, escaped from fi eld trials in 2003 and has taken root in Malheur and Jefferson counties in Oregon and part of Canyon County in Idaho. Seattle Pacific O Photos by Sean Ellis/Capital Press Madras 395 IDAHO OREGON Bend Parma 20 101 Boise 5 97 Areas of GMO bentgrass occurrence 395 CALIF. 95 NTARIO, Ore. — Eastern Oregon farmer Jerry Er- strom scouts for patches of genetically engineered creeping bentgrass on the banks of an irrigation ditch June 14. It doesn’t take him long to fi nd one. And then another, and another. The bentgrass was genetically engi- neered to withstand applications of glypho- At a glance sate herbicide, which makes it diffi cult to kill. Farmers such as Er- strom worry it will ul- timately take over the countryside, clog irri- gation ditches and af- Name: The Scotts fect shipments of crops Miracle-Gro Company to nations that don’t Type: Public (NYSE: SMG) accept traces of genet- Industry: Consumer lawn ically modifi ed organ- and garden products Founded: 1995 isms, or GMOs. “I’ve been doing HQ: Marysville, Ohio weeds for 25 years and CEO and chairman: I promise you in fi ve James Hagedorn years this (county) will Net revenue: $2.84 billion* be inundated with it,” Net earnings: $166 million* said Erstrom, chair- Operations: U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific man of the Malheur Notable brands: Scotts, County Weed Board. Miracle-Gro, Ortho, The bentgrass was Evergreen, KB, Fertiligene, meant for golf courses. Celaflor and Substral Instead, after escap- Employees: 6,700 (full-time)* ing from fi eld trials 13 Website: years ago, it has taken scottsmiraclegro.com root in Malheur and *FY 2014 Jefferson counties and ignited a debate about who should be re- sponsible for controlling it in the future. Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., which was developing the grass for use mainly on golf course greens, said it is committed to collaboratively working with grow- ers and irrigation districts to control and eradicate the grass where possible. But some farmers believe a 10-year agreement Scotts recently reached with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will allow the com- pany in a few years to essentially walk Mountain Home away from any responsibility for con- trolling the plant. N Turn to BENTGRASS, Page 12 NEV. Capital Press graphic 9th Circuit ponders local GMO authority Farmer to challenge Clean Water Act tillage ruling By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI A California farmer plans to chal- lenge a recent court ruling that he vi- olated the Clean Water Act by tilling through wetlands in his fi eld. A federal judge has ruled John Duarte of Tehama County, Calif., should have obtained a Clean Water Act permit to run shanks through the wetlands at a depth of four to six inches, creating furrows prior to planting wheat in a 450-acre pasture. Turn to WATER, Page 12 If the USDA has only limited au- thority over biotechnology, how much power do states and counties have to restrict genetically engineered crops? This question arose from a pivotal ruling issued by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals three years ago, and the appellate court will probably soon have to answer it. ANALYSIS In 2013, the 9th Circuit decided that USDA only has the power to regulate genetically engineered crops that are potential plant pests. Pathogens are commonly used to alter crop genetics, so the USDA eval- uates the plants to ensure they don’t in- herit disease-causing or parasitic traits. Turn to GMO, Page 12 Capital Press SPECIALIZING IN QUALITY USED EQUIPMENT Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press California farmer John Duarte, second from right, speaks with attendees at the 2016 American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention in Orlando, Fla., earlier this year. 2007 Apache AS1010 CONSIGNMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME! View Our Full Inventory At: www.hobbytimeequipment.com $83 , 000 430 U.S. 26 Blackfoot, ID 83221 (208) 540-2014 26-2/#16 Capital Press By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
