GE Wheat Lessons Learned from 2013 Event

On Friday the USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service or APHIS released news that 22 glyphosate resistant wheat plants were discovered in a summer fallow field in Eastern Washington. These plants had the Monsanto-developed herbicide resistant trait that was similar to the trait found in Oregon three years ago.

Learning from how the situation was addressed the last time GE wheat was discovered, Washington Association of Wheat Growers Executive Director Michelle Hennings shares

Hennings: "This time around, we took a more proactive approach by contacting our buyers before it got out in the media. So we could use our networking relationships to inform them about what is going on. It has done us a good thing, as they have been very pleased that we let them know early. So now APHIS has gone in and done testing come up with a test that our buyers can utilize so that they can test for GMOS and be sure that nothing is slipping through."

Hennings says that APHIS also become more proactive in their communication with those organizations involved.

Hennings: "There was more communication. They reached out to us — the industry. It was more user-friendly for us to know what the scenario is, what the situation was — so it was a positive as well. They do deserve credit for that."