SASKATOON -- Company officials were cited as saying in Saskatoon Wednesday that Monsanto won't commercialize its Roundup Ready Wheat (RRW) until systems are in place to segregate it from traditional wheat.

Curtis Rempel, Monsanto's commercial lead for RRW in Canada, was cited as saying that Monsanto is working with grain handlers and the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) to establish quality testing procedures which will be acceptable world-wide.

The story says that the biggest issue facing Monsanto is global market acceptance of GM crops. If customers -- which include the world's largest wheat importing nations -- don't want the product, farmers won't grow it. Segregation is also critical to allowing customers the choice between traditional and GM varieties.

Monsanto will start submitting regulatory documents for RRW to agencies in Canada, the United States and Japan this year.

However, Rempel was cited as saying RRW, a genetically modified (GM) variety, is not expected to hit the market until 2004 at the earliest, adding, "This is not going to be a broad-based launch of technology." Rather, Monsanto will grow the crop on contract and match supply with the demand of millers and bakers, he said. The same kind of limited release was used with GM canola.

Jim Pietryk, spokesperson for the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), was cited as saying he was pleased to hear Monsanto is taking a cautious approach to launching its GM variety but noted that while Monsanto's new corporate approach is commendable, that doesn't mean a segregation system will be foolproof, adding, "Customers and farmers have told us we don't want it right now. There is no such thing as being foolproof -- no system is ever going to be foolproof. It doesn't take much of a scare or even an erroneous scare . . . to send customers scurrying."

Pietryk was further cited as saying that the CWB supports the basic science of herbicide-tolerant wheat, but the systems and the markets aren't in place to handle it and that segregation may end up costing farmers more money, since they pay for elevation and transportation.

The story says that reporters asked Monsanto at a Saskatoon discussion why it was focusing on Roundup resistance in wheat, instead of fusarium resistance, for example.

Reporters noted that farmers are worried about rotating RRW with Roundup Ready canola, because it may increase the risk of pesticide resistance in volunteer crops. It will also complicate herbicide use, which will reduce the convenience benefit offered by GM crops.

Farmers are also very concerned about market resistance from other countries, where GM varieties are usually less accepted or not accepted at all.

But Carman Read, who handles industry relations for Monsanto, was cited as saying round table meetings with farmers have shown they are becoming more supportive of RRW and that Monsanto is focused on "the sustainability of Roundup as a tool."

He also disputed the argument that Monsanto is throwing money and time away on developing RRW. He said the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is already making progress in establishing tolerance levels for GM content around the world.

Monsanto is presently involved in field trials, including a small plot about half an hour's drive from Saskatoon.

Rempel said wheat pollen doesn't travel as far as canola pollen in the wind. Studies have shown that less than .01 per cent of wheat pollen travels beyond 27 metres.

The field trial plots are surrounded by 30 metres of bare land, then five metres of corn and 25 metres of canola.

** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed for research and educational purposes only. **