10/12/04

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1. GMO Bentgrass – Gone With The Wind
2 Farmer Owned Grain Reserves Beneficial
3. New WRP Money Available
4. Delegates Meet To Curb Trade in Endangered Species

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1. GMO BENT GRASS – GONE WITH THE WIND

A report just out describing the wide dispersal of a new genetically 
modified grass pollen is surprising researchers, land managers and 
conservationists. The recently released EPA report shows that a 
GMO grass (creeping bentgrass) now under review in Oregon has 
pollinated with non-GMO grasses as far as 21 kilometers away. 
Prior to this study most experts thought the GMO grass would not 
pollinate beyond 1.6 kilometers as only a handful of studies have 
ever investigated gene flow from crops - GM or otherwise - at 
distances greater than a few hundred meters. The implications of 
this are troubling to anyone dealing with the costly destructiveness 
of invasive species. Gina Ramos of the Bureau of Land 
Management says: "Our concern is that if it was to escape onto 
public land, we wouldn't know how to control it." The USDA is 
planning to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement on the 
effects of releasing GMO bentgrass, and is seeking scoping 
comments until October 25.

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996421

2. FARMER OWNED GRAIN RESERVES BENEFICIAL 

With farm prices perpetually spiraling downward due to over-
production and lack of inventory management, an old idea is 
resurfacing; farmer-owned grain reserves. This method was 
employed extensively in the 1930s and '40s in the U.S. and gave 
farmers an inventory management tool to store crops until prices 
came back up. Economist Dr. Daryl Ray, the Blasingame Chair of 
Excellence in Agricultural Policy at the University of Tennessee, 
argues in a new article written for the Agricultural Policy Analysis 
Center, that these reserves could also benefit consumers and export 
customers by providing a steady stream of products. Ray says, "A 
well-designed Farmer-Owned-Reserve program could go a long 
way to lessen the severity of a multi-year production short-fall or 
demand explosion." Analyzing two historical examples of dramatic 
price shifts, Dr. Ray investigates the far reaching and often 
unintended effects of dramatic price shifts suggesting reinstituting 
reserves could solve multiple problems. "Crop farmers," he said, 
"could benefit handsomely from the "high" prices they would 
receive when they sold grain out of their reserve when release 
triggers were hit. But they would likely be spared from the 
commodity and land price crashes a few years later." 

The article can be read online at: 
http://www.agpolicy.org/weekcol/217.html

3. NEW WRP RESTORATION MONEY AVAILABLE

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman this week announced the 
availability of $2.1 million in Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) 
technical assistance funds for technical service providers and other 
third parties to conduct restoration activities on WRP lands in 12 
states. These funds are meant to help with the restoration of 
between 30,000 and 40,000 acres of wetlands. States receiving the 
WRP technical assistance funds are: California, Indiana, Iowa, 
Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North 
Dakota, Oklahoma, Washington and Wisconsin. 

Additional information on WRP is available at 
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/wrp.

4. DELEGATES MEET TO CURB TRADE IN ENDANGERED 
SPECIES

Delegates from 166 countries are meeting in Bangkok this week to 
vote on additions to the list of plants and animals protected by the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). 
CITES is an international treaty which bans trade in animal and 
plant products from endangered species, and regulates trade in 
others that could be threatened by international trade. 
Conservationists scored several victories, including an agreement to 
control global trade in Indonesian ramin wood, which is used in 
picture frames and baby cribs. Ramin trees are being logged illegally 
in Indonesia's national parks, destroying the last habitats for 
endangered orangutans. The parties also agreed to ban trade in the 
rare Irrawaddy dolphin, and cut caviar export quotas to protect 
Caspian Sea sturgeon species that have been decimated by pollution 
and poaching. Proposals are also on the table to impose additional 
protections for great white sharks, Patagonian toothfish, and 
others; however, proposals are also on the table to loosen 
restrictions on ivory and whaling. 

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041008/dcf014_1.html

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Scotty Johnson and Aimee Delach
National Rural Community Outreach Campaign
sjohnson@defenders.org