Biotech Sugarbeets Get Green Light

Sugarbeet growers will be able plant Roundup Ready sugarbeets this year.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White denied a request for a preliminary injunction against planting biotech beets.

"We are pleased," says Nick Sinner, executive director of the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association.

It's estimated that 90-95% of the sugarbeets planted in the Red River Valley and southern Minnesota last year were Roundup Ready. It wasn't clear if there would have been enough conventional seed to plant all the contract acres this spring.

According U.S. Sugar Biotech Council statement, the judge "recognized the significant negative impact that an immediate ban on planting would have caused to growers, processors, rural communities and the U.S. sugar supply."

But the future of biotech sugarbeets isn't secure. In July, Judge White will take up the issue of whether the planting of genetically modified sugarbeet varieties should be banned until USDA completes a court-ordered study of the potential impact biotech seeds might have on conventional beet seed genetics, organic farmers and the environment. The study may take several years.

"We look forward to the next phase of the court proceedings," reads the U.S. Sugar Biotech Council statement, "where we can present evidence about potential choices for our growers and processors."