# RR Alfalfa EIS Coming Soon ¿A good thing?



## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

Roundup Ready Alfalfa EIS Coming Soon
Jul 28, 2009 12:10 PM

By Neil Tietz, Editor, Hay & Forage Grower 
Roundup Ready alfalfa seed could be back on the market in time for spring 2010 seedings, believes Matt Fanta, trait business manager for Forage Genetics International. He says the long-awaited draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on the biotech crop is expected to be published by USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) by mid-September.

Roundup Ready Alfalfa EIS Coming Soon

Fanta is now confident that the process is moving forward, and credits the National Alfalfa and Forage Alliance and other groups for letting USDA know the importance of timeliness. "There is a desire for growers to have access to the technology, and if they can't plant it next spring they lose a whole year," he says.

"We're very hopeful on a spring 2010 opportunity, and we think the opportunity is real based on the progress that's being made today," he adds.

If growers have opinions for or against Roundup Ready alfalfa, Fanta urges them to make their views known during the public comment period. The draft EIS will be posted, and comments solicited, at Regulations.gov. Or, go to Roundup Ready Alfalfa. That site, set up by Forage Genetics, will list the necessary steps for submitting comments once the open comment period begins.

"If they go there today and provide their email address, we'll keep them up to date on when the open comment period is," says Fanta. "They don't have to keep checking back."

When Roundup Ready alfalfa goes back on the market, significant quantities of seed of several varieties will be available.

_Emphases added. _


----------

