Marketing of Grain from Corn Hybrids with the "NK603" Biotech Event By Bill Wiebold

Spring may seem like an odd time to contemplate grain marketing. But, corn growers ought to consider possible marketing channels during hybrid selection and spring planting. Smart channeling of grain from some hybrids is essential to the well-being of all U.S. corn producers. Early consideration gives producers time to explore options. Marketing corn grain can be complicated if it is produced by hybrids that carry one or more biotech traits.

Seed companies must provide U.S. and foreign government agencies large amounts of data on each biotech trait and any combination (stacked) of biotech traits before grain is approved for feed (animal) and food (human) purposes. The three most important government entities for US grain marketing are the United States, European Union and Japan. The National Corn Growers Association http://www.ncga.com/ biotechnology/know_where/index.html provides a listing of the approval status of biotech corn events for each of these three markets. The most difficult market in which to gain approval is the European Union. Seed companies will usually market hybrids if the biotech event (or events) is approved in the United States and Japan.

It is highly recommended that corn grain containing biotech events that are not approved in all three markets be carefully channeled to prevent disruption in the export market. This means that grain not approved for export to the E.U. should be used for on-farm livestock rations, sold to domestic livestock feeding channels or delivered to elevators accepting grain not yet approved for E.U. export. The American Seed Trade Association http://asta.farmprogress.com/ Web site provides information about the grain facilities accepting such hybrids. Remember that these Web sites rely on data collected from surveys and corn producers, and you should contact seed dealers and local grain buyers for the most recent information.

One biotech event was recently approved by the E.U., but this approval could add to the marketing confusion if producers do not understand the details of this approval. The event, NK603, carries the trade name Roundup Ready 2, which is similar to another biotech trade name. The first glyphosate tolerant corn hybrids carried the event MonGA21 and the trade name Roundup Ready. Neither MonGA21 nor SYTGA21 (trade name GT Advantage) is accepted for import into the European Union. In addition, grain that carries the NK603 event stacked with any other biotech trait (e.g., YieldGard) cannot be imported into European Union. So, only grain from glyphosate tolerant hybrids containing NK603 as the sole biotech event can be marketed without channeling. Grain from all other glyphosate tolerant hybrids should be used on-farm or sold to faculties that are willing to accept grain not approved by the European Union.

Glyphosate tolerant corn hybrids are a useful weapon in controlling problem weeds, but they should be part of an integrated crop management plan that limits the development of resistant weeds. Knowledge of which biotech event is present and if it is stacked with other biotech events is essential to smart marketing.

Bill Wiebold, Agronomy 573-882-0621