June 1998
Barley Brewings
Library
Back
Prairie Grains is the
official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain
Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.
The Minnesota Barley Growers Association played a key role in obtaining $250,000 from the 1998 Minnesota Legislative Session to establish a public/private partnership to genetically modify traits desired in Minnesota wheat and barley.
Sen. LeRoy Stumpf (DFL-Thief River Falls) Sen. Roger Moe (DFL-Erskine) Sen. Cal Larson (R-Fergus Falls) and Rep. Tim Finseth (R-Angus) were key lawmakers behind the measure.
Marv Zutz, executive director of the MBGA, says the idea was inspired by the multi-year research agreement between Monsanto and Agriculture Canada, announced last winter. Under the deal, technology that makes a crop resistant to Monsanto's herbicide Roundup will be inserted into Canadian spring wheat lines.
"We want to collaborate with a private company that has a gene that we can put into our Minnesota wheat and barley varieties that would make them more competitive in the world market, whether it's an end-use trait in demand by buyers, or an agronomic trait that will help us reduce input costs," says Zutz.
Public/private cooperation to develop genetically-engineered small grains makes sense, he says. Private industry has far greater resources and is further advanced in the field of biotechnology than the public sector. But the public sector offers strong breeding programs for developing wheat and barley varieties.
"You can develop the gene, but you need the variety to carry it. That's what the land-grant university breeding program and experiment stations bring to the table," says Zutz.
The MBGA is working with ag officials from the University of Minnesota to develop and negotiate a plan with a private company. Preliminary discussions have already been held with some of the industry leaders in developing genetically-engineered crops, which includes Monsanto, Novartis, and AgrEvo.
"We see this as a four-year, $250,000 a year state commitment. Once an agreement is established with a private company, the trait we wish to target is identified, and our proprietary or patent issues are straight, we can go to work. If we can stack a variety with an antifungal gene to suppress scab, we can have a better variety yet," says Zutz.
Seeger 1998/99 USGC Chair
Mike Seeger, Red Lake Falls, MN, will become 1998/99 chairman of the U.S. Feed Grains Council, during the USFGC's annual board of directors meeting July 19-22 in Minneapolis. Seeger will be the first representative of the Minnesota Barley Research and Promotion Council to serve as USFGC chair.
Founded in 1960, the USFGC is a private, non-profit corporation with a membership that includes producer organizations and agribusinesses with a common interest in development export markets for U.S. corn, barley, sorghum, and their related products. Membership funds, including producer checkoff dollars, are matched by funds from the U.S. government and cooperating groups in foreign countries to produce an annual development program valued at over $20 million.
USFGC name change July 1
The U.S. Feed Grains Council will drop "Feed" from its name effective July 1. The name change to U.S. Grains Council reflects an international market development focus that has broadened to include grain for industrial products, human consumption, and other value-added uses.
Better barley risk management
Leaders of the National Barley Growers Association met recently with officials of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation's Risk Management Agency in Kansas City to discuss better crop insurance options for barley growers. Dave Vilmo, Ada, MN, represented the MBGA. A plan based on barley revenue, and another that would use a longer time frame to establish yield trends, were among the proposals discussed. RMA is evaluating program proposals and a pilot program for barley could come as soon as 1999.
"This must be the event that gets us out of a laissez faire ag trade policy. We gotta stop takin' a knife to a gunfight!"
Chuck Merja, past president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, on the European Union sale of subsidized feed barley to California, and the need for stronger measures to counter EU subsidized grain tactics. n