County farmers irritated about genetic rice flap

The recent announcement that genetically engineered material has been found in the state’s rice supply “will have a huge impact on farmers here,” John Alter, president of the Arkansas Rice Growers Association, says.

The US Department of Agriculture announced Aug. 18 that small amounts of an unapproved genetically engineered protein LLR601 had been found in some long grain rice. The material comes from tests conducted by Bayer Crop Sciences from 1998-2001 to develop rice that would be resistant to the herbicide Liberty. The USDA stressed that there is no danger to human health from this rice.

However, many export markets, such as the European Union have strict regulations against importing genetically engineered foods.

Alter said this situation would hit the average farmer right in the wallet. “The farmer is the only one who lost a dime on this.”

He also strongly criticized the timing of the announcement, which came just as the rice harvest was beginning.

“It’s absolutely criminal” that farmers hadn’t been notified sooner, Alter said. Since the problem seems to be confined to two varieties of rice, Cocodrie and Cheniere, farmers could have isolated those varieties when harvesting.

Mike Merritt of FARM Inc. and farmer Kenneth Graves of Crocketts Bluff went further in their criticism, pointing out that Riceland Foods first heard of the problem in January.

“If the information had been brought forward sooner, [farmers] would not have planted a contaminated crop,” Merritt said.

Graves called Riceland’s actions “inexcusable.”

“For a farmers’ cooperative that is supposed to be looking out for the farmers interest for a profit,” Riceland’s actions in not making the action public sooner “was totally unacceptable,” Graves said.

According to a statement issued by Riceland Aug. 18, the company was first notified of the problem by a customer in January. “As part of its due diligence effort, Riceland sent a sample from the customer and a retained Riceland sample to a U.S. laboratory which tests for genetically engineered material. The samples tested positive for Bayer’s herbicide-resistance trait which was known to be present in corn, soybeans, canola and cotton.”

The statement goes on to say that Riceland collected samples again in May, and “a significant number tested positive for the Bayer trait.” Riceland contacted Bayer in early June, and in late July, Bayer confirmed positive results for the genetic material at a rate of 0.06 percent or 6 kernels in 10,000 kernels of rice.

Merritt said the market for rice was looking very promising before the news hit. The world supply of rice was at its “tightest” since 1983, and prices were at a three-year high. On Monday, he estimated that the price has dropped about 73 cents a bushel, since the first news of the genetic rice crop became public. That means the crop will bring about $120 an acre less than it would have before the news.

This comes at a time when the farmers’ expenses were “the highest ever incurred,” Merritt said. In most cases, he estimated it would take a price of $4 per bushel for farmers to break even. “We won’t get that now,” Merritt said. “My guess is about $3.75.”

Graves estimated the problem wouldn’t affect him that much, even though he did plant one field of Cheniere. But most of his crop this year was medium-grain rice, which is not affected by the genetic material. Graves also praised Bayer Crop Sciences, who he said, unlike Riceland, has taken prompt action on resolving the problem.

“I understand Bayer will make this good,” Graves said. “They came forward which is more than I can say for Riceland.”

Alter, however, said Bayer has only agreed to pay for testing for exporters, merchandisers and millers. It has not agreed to pay for testing for farmers.

Alter also leveled his criticism at the State of Arkansas. Two years ago, the Arkansas Legislature passed a bill that instructed the Arkansas Plant Board to form a board to set up the rules and protocols to handle this type of occurrence.

“This should be a wake-up call,” Alter said. “We need some line of defense.”

One of the biggest questions is how this material got into the general rice crop. David Jessup, president of DeWitt Bank and Trust, said there needs to be a thorough investigation. Also, Tuesday morning the first lawsuits were announced. According to a report in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, both Bayer and Riceland have been named in the suits. More suits are expected.

There are possibilities that the price may recover somewhat as more information becomes available. Merritt said the LLRICE601 will be approved by the USDA within 60 days, which will help with the domestic market. But whether the price will recover sufficiently or in time is still a big question. Jessup mentioned the trucks lined up at Producers in DeWitt, unloading their rice. “Everyone of these trucks you see parked outside Producers’ lot is now worth $1200 less.,” he said.

Graves urged his fellow farmers to let those responsible know what they think. With more than a hint of sarcasm he said, “All rice farmers should call Riceland and thank them for getting us into this.”

County farmers irritated about genetic rice flap

The recent announcement that genetically engineered material has been found in the state’s rice supply “will have a huge impact on farmers here,” John Alter, president of the Arkansas Rice Growers Association, says.

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