Maize colleagues:
I've been appointed to a Boulder County (Colorado) committee to
advise on the use of transgenic crops on county-owned Open Space
land. The county manages a significant part of its open space by
leasing to farmers for crop production. A major issue will be
devising guidelines to minimize pollen contamination from transgenic
corn onto organic corn. I believe the standard USDA isolation
distance for seed production purposes (660 feet, or 1/8 mile) is
considered inadequate to meet a 1% contamination threshold. On the
other hand, a distance being considered in Europe (3 miles, I think)
seems excessive. I would appreciate any information relevant to this
issue, including how other communities have dealt with it. (I have
seen the National Research Council's 2000 report on Genetically
Modified Pest-Protected Plants). Thanks.
Pat Byrne
--
Patrick F. Byrne
Assistant Professor
Department of Soil & Crop Sciences
Colorado State University
Ft. Collins, CO 80523
Phone: 970-491-6985 FAX: 970-491-0564
email: pbyrne at lamar.colostate.edu
