National Farmers Union-Ontario plan to lead province-wide GM alfalfa protest

Apr 08, 2013

NFU-Ontario to rally farm members to stop the release of GM alfalfa

Some farmers who belong to one of the three general farm organizations in the province, National Farmers Union – Ontario (NFU) are rallying its farm membership base, to try and stop the release of genetically modified (GM) alfalfa.

The farm group has planned 13 protests across the province at different Member of Provincial Parliament (MP) offices and another 12 that are scheduled to take place in other parts of Canada on Tuesday, April 9th from 12noon to 1pm.

NFO-Ontario is calling it a “day of action” calling on farmers and concerned consumers to visit or contact their local MP constituency offices or to send letters to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Gerry Ritz.

Forage Genetics International has applied Monsanto’s genetically modified Roundup Ready technology to alfalfa. While Canadian regulatory authorities approved GM alfalfa for health and environmental release in 2005, there is one more step that allows for commercial release in Canada - variety registration from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The final step could be completed as early as this spring.

Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.