GM Crops different perspective

[malleefarmer]

Talking to a successful organic farmer mostly wheat with legumes for nitrogen.

He absolutely welcomed gm crops in our state.

If they can breed legumes resistant to insects and fungus etc and wheat leaf diseases et his life would be so much easier.

Calls himself a modern organic farmer. His approach was interesting and sensible.

So some produce must be gm free and organic other just organic.

Nice guy been doing it well for 30 yrs but getting harder and harder meaning weeds.

[grassfarmer]

Are they really taking a different approach to GM crops in Australia Mallee or is that just the sales pitch? My perception of GM crops here isn't that their focus has been primarily on developing strains with increased resistance to fungus, drought etc. Isn't resistance to glyphosate the main thing crops here have been developed for to make weed control easier? Is this a new approach by the companies for Australia or just marketing?

[malleefarmer]

Not sure but if growers had to prioritise RR crops wold be about number 4 .

But fact is rr gene is easy to add other agronomic Benoit’s a harder nut to crack.

A myriad o meeting across oz last 2 plus years what farmers want from gm research and breeding.

I’m sure oz ananda attended or he may have ignored his invite not that his views I give a rats toss bag about.

Gm means different things to armrest the world over what yo want in downtown Medicine Hat is way divergent than I want from the technique

[Guest]

Maybe he'll sober up next month and explain his last post

[grassfarmer]

....Gm means different things to armrest the world over what yo want in downtown Medicine Hat is way divergent than I want from the technique

I'm sure what farmers might want from GM technology does vary from area to area but it's the idea that said farmers can dictate which traits they want GM technology developed for that puzzles me. Are these the same companies involved as in north America - ie Monsanto and it's successor?

[AlbertaFarmer5]

That is good news. Not sure how it is possible, since I thought Organic standards were supposedly the same world over? Or is it a local market?

I've said it before, that organic should have embraced GMO as a means to eliminate problems with pests and the need for chemicals, to enable a sustainable organic industry. Instead they have spent most of their marketing efforts propagating myths about GMO as a means of differentiating their own indistinguishable products in the marketplace. Now, if/when we create nitrogen fixing cereals etc. organic will be stuck on the outside looking in.

[malleefarmer]

really dont know.
was on a farm in sweden in 08 i think organic but they sprayed with glypho around buildings and fencelines etc. Another section of there farm was full blown chems and fert.

ps darn auto correct spellchecker.

another friend mills wheat and sells it at markets and stuff in the city as "preservative" free doesnt mention organic word it sells. His country get glypho once at start of season and cultivated after that and no chems during growing season.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Mallee, that makes far more sense than the current organic regime, and is far closer to what the average consumer expects. It would still allow sustainable no-till practices, and the consumer gets chemical free products. Everyone wins, except the anti-science crusaders such as our resident troll.

[bucket]

Mallee, that makes far more sense than the current organic regime, and is far closer to what the average consumer expects. It would still allow sustainable no-till practices, and the consumer gets chemical free products. Everyone wins, except the anti-science crusaders such as our resident troll.

Most of my cereals this year got a preseed burnoff and I parked the sprayer....mid june didn't look like a crop and nothing was growing...

I will either have to swath ...or wait longer to spray but september spraying pre harvest is a crap shoot...