The Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM), Decatur, IL, yesterday joined its crosstown competitor, A.E. Staley Mfg. Co., in rejecting any genetically modified corn that is not accepted in European Union (EU) markets.

In a statement to the media obtained by Grainnet, ADM said: "ADM supports the position of the Corn Refiners Association and National Grain and Feed Association in regard to transfenic corn in that we will not participate in the commerce of the varieties that are not approved by the European Union. If and when the varieties are approved by the European Union, we will participate in the marketing of those grains."

Covered under both companies' policy are Roundup Ready corn, which has been genetically engineered to resist damage from Monsanto Co.'s broad-spectrum Roundup herbicide, and certain varieties of Bt corn, which has been modified to produce a toxin that kills certain pests such as European corn borer. Approvals of these products have been held up in the European Union (EU), where public opposition to genetically modified plants is stronger than in the United States.

Meanwhile, a front-page article in the Decatur Herald & Review newspaper this morning quoted Pat Mohan, executive vice president at Staley, as saying: "Farmers are being told by their seed suppliers which seed varieties are accepted. We're just asking them to follow that advice." He referred to contracts that state the farmer has agreed not to sell the crop to any outlet that sells overseas.

Roundup Ready corn is not expected to be widely grown across the Corn Belt this year. Last year, the product was grown only in test plots, and seed supplies are limited. Doug Wilson, president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, said he expects 3% of the state's corn crop this year to be of the Roundup Ready type.

Depending on who's giving the estimate, Bt corn is being planted on 20% to 40% of U.S. corn acreage this year. Some Bt corn varieties have been approved for import into the EU, but others have not.

In his interview with the Herald & Review, Mohan did not say that Staley would test corn that is brought to the plant in Decatur. "Based on our experience with farmers, we don't think that's going to be an issue," he said. "This is nothing that they shouldn't have been doing in the past."

Meanwhile, Randy Krotz, director of public and industry affairs for Monsanto Co., St. Louis, MO, which developed the Roundup Ready gene for both corn and soybeans, downplayed the importance of the announcement by Staley and ADM. "In reality, based on our education, Staley should not have been a recipient of Roundup Ready corn, anyway," he said, noting that seed companies have always required farmers to sign contracts for purchasing transgenic seed.

Roundup Ready soybeans are accepted by the EU and other U.S. trading partners.

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