The agricultural industry is on trial to see if it is doing more than just paying lip service to refuge planting. Surely it can do better
by PAT LYNCH
As I write, Monsanto has just announced it will refuse to sell certain hybrids to growers if the growers do not follow the refuge rules. This is good news and the impetus needed to ensure refuge planting. But the latest numbers about refuge planting indicate that some growers are not taking refuge seriously.
The fact that Bt rootworm is failing to give protection from rootworm in U.S. corn fields has raised the refuge issue to new heights. But this is not just about refuge acres. This is about the credibility of the agricultural industry.