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Marmac is right, I think the seed we get is 300 bucks a bag, BUT the seed produces superior corn, cobs that are pure white through and through and so the cows eat more of it and leave less in the managers. This allows us to buy less processed grain since the cows are eating our own home-grown corn, so in the end, the higher cost is justified.
But there again, the traits the corn give us, through Mansanto's careful selection and science, enables us to justify the high cost of the seed. They are called the seed police, but the reality is, farmers want the high yeilding corn their corn delivers, without paying them for the intellectual process they used to get it.
Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door. In this case they built a better variety of corn and the world wants to beat them up for it. I would like to say that it doesn't make sense, but I forgot, we are moving from Capitalism to Socialism now, so it makes perfect sense afterall.
Why do farmers have to buy seeds in the first place? Can't they use a part of the last harvest?
Anyway, stumbled upon this thread when searching for Monsanto. I read today that there will be a huge demonstration in front of the European patent office today because of the worrying trend that a few companies (Monsanto, BASF etc.) own patents on plant and animal species, products and processes used in their creation. Monsanto for instance wants or already has patents on corn, of course, but also on the animals fed with it so they can charge from the seeds right up to steak.
We really need politicians that are independent and brave enough to speak up and protect nature from privatization and all the problems that come with it.
Strange that an IOWA corn farmer is stating he is being forced to use Monsanto seed.
There is a huge, well respected, seed company in Albert Lea Minnesota ( very near the Iowa border) that distributes seed into Iowa. I am looking at their thick seed catalog, and notice they have 12 pages of seed corn including conventional seed corn.
archiehomesteader----------I think this is a case Broken Tap mentioned earlier on a different threasd. Uninformed people who know little about a subject and scour the internet looking for things they can jump on the bandwagon.
I doubt a " homesteader" from VT knows much about availability of seed corn in Iowa.
If seed corn companies are not offering conventional seed corn, it's because there is not enough farmers who want it to make carrying it profitable.
Monsanto brings in their seeds, the seeds polinate with the farmers next to Monsanto and then Monsanto claims they are using their seed and sues them .
And don't forget, hybrid corn is NOT GMO corn and there are plenty of varieties of that, in many, many different seed company names.
My only complaint is that in the state of Maine we are no longer allowed to buy the GMO seed that made growing corn the most profitable. The only GMO seed we can get now and grow legally in Maine is the Round-Up Ready corn though much, much better varieties exist. Is it any wonder Maine dairy farmers have lost 25% of their dairy farmers and Vermont has lost 1/3 in the last few months!
:-(
Just wondering, not arguing.
Was any justification given why Round-Up Ready corn was ok and the other GMOs weren't? Does Monsanto make the other banned-GMOs or are they from other manufacturers? Just seems a little odd to come out and say "These seeds are bad... well, all except this one, it's still ok."
[quote=Neuling;15114791]Why do farmers have to buy seeds in the first place? Can't they use a part of the last harvest?
Depending on where the farmer gets his seed, he may NOT be able to use his last harvest. Monsanto has farmers sign agreements not to use their seed for following harvests, as well as inserts a "suicide" gene that keeps over 90% of the seed sterile anyway. As noted above, the seed police have been reported to check fields and then sue farmers or other suppliers for patent infringement. Kinda scary to a lot of folks.
Since the companies that produce GMO seed own the patents to them, and the farmer is only purchasing a license to plant and grow them, if the farmer saves some of the harvest and replants it is considered patent infringement and unlicensed use.
Sort of like installing on set of software on all your friends' computers.
Unfortunately, biology is not software, and GMO crops can cross-pollinate with crops of conventional seeds if they are close enough for the wind and bees to spread the pollin. So farmers that didn't plant the GMO seed could still have plants with the GMO markers because the crop escaped containment; but it appears that in the reported cases of this happening, the farmers are "guilty until proven innocent".
my father in law buys enough corn seed to plant 1600 acres worth, and none of it comes from mosanto.
Thank you for proving my point .
People complaining that they have no choice but to buy Monsamto seed is pure baloney and your father-in-law is proof that there are options.
Thank you for proving my point .
People complaining that they have no choice but to buy Monsamto seed is pure baloney and your father-in-law is proof that there are options.
there are always options, it is just that most people including farmers do not want to take the time and look for other options.
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