A trio of bills before the North Dakota Legislature will take on the thorny issue of how the state will regulate genetically modified crops in the future.

The House Agriculture Committee will hold hearing on two of the bills 11 a.m. Thursday. The first bill, HB 1338, would restrict the sale of genetically modified (GMO) seed wheat in North Dakota before August of 2003. HB 1442 would put limits on the rights of companies who hold patents on GMO crops to collect crops samples without permission.

The other bill, SB 2235, authorizes the state seed commission to do analysis of seed samples to establish genetic identities of varieties. A hearing date for SB 2235 hasn't been set yet.

Sen. Terry Wanzek (R-Cleveland) chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said these bills were very important to the future of agriculture in North Dakota. He said the the episode with Starlink corn, which was only authorized for animal feed but showed up in human food products, was part of the impetus behind this flurry of legislation. Wanzek is a sponsor of SB 2235.

'Agriculture is our major industry. If we jeopardize our reputation with our market, that could have a serious economic impact on us,' Wanzek said.

Rep. Phillip Mueller (D-Wimbledon) said he introduced HB 1338 to help safeguard North Dakota's place in the world wheat market in light of the impending introduction of GMO wheat.

'This issue is very simple, our potential market loss,' Mueller said. 'We don't really need any other excuses for our markets to get lower than they are. That isn't our only concern, but it is certainly the major concern.'

Currently eight of the United States' 11 biggest customers for wheat have placed some restrictions on GMO importation, he said.

It is expensive to prove that a shipment of seed has no GMO varieties mixed in with non-GMO crops Mueller said. Currently, there are no GMO varieties commercially available, although Monsanto is set to release two varieties in 2003.

Alan Lee, chairman of the North Dakota Wheat Commission, said the organization hasn't taken a firm position on the bills, but that he personally supports them in principal. Because the majority of wheat grown in the U.S. is exported, Lee would like to see the introduction of GMO wheat delayed until the majority of importing countries accept it.

'I definitely don't oppose the idea behind the bill,' Lee said. 'We need to wait on Roundup Ready wheat until it is accepted in all of the countries that we do business with.'

Todd Leake, a board member of the Dakota Resource Council and a farmer from Emerado, strongly supports all three bills. He said HB 1442 would protect farmers in disputes with companies that hold patents on GMO crops.

'In the past the companies have not notified the landowner (before an inspection),' Leake said. 'The bill will create a situation where we can handle these issues in our local courts and not have our farmers threatened with litigation down in St. Louis or somewhere. We're trying to guarantee our farmers some rights in these disputes.'

The bill requires companies who suspect a farmer is growing a crop covered by their patents to get the landowner's permission or authorization from a judge to go onto their land to take samples of the crop. It also requires that duplicate samples be taken by a neutral third party. The samples are to be analyzed at an independent laboratory and the landowner must be notified of the results. Disputes about the results would be mediated by the state Mediation Service.

Wanzek and Mueller said this is an issue that cuts across party lines. They think the state needs to find a balance between allaying the concerns of the countries that buy North Dakota farm products while not stifling innovation.

'How far does the state want to go?' Wanzek asked. 'Do we want to be viewed as against any new development or progress? In my mind, we have to be a little bit cautious not to send out a totally negative message about North Dakota and its position in agriculture.'

Mueller intends to introduce a resolution for an interim committee to study issues related to genetically modified crops and make recommendations to the 2003 Legislature.

** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed for research and educational purposes only. **