BRENDON Smart (pictured in a crop of irrigated lucerne with sons Ryan and Damien) believes SA's moratorium on GM crops may jeopardise his family business' vital United States contracts.
Long a vocal supporter of biotechnology in plant breeding, Brendon said Roundup Ready lucerne was taking off in the US. With 60 per cent to 70pc of the SmartGroup's lucerne seed contracted to a major US plant breeder, Brendon believes that the significant advantages of the modified varieties will reduce demand for non-biotech seed in the future.
Major destinations for Australia's lucerne seed production include North and South America, and the Middle East.
The Middle East is expected to decline rapidly in the next three to five years because of declining water, while the demand in the Americas for modified seed in the same period will exceed 50pc of the area sown.
One leading American lucerne expert believes that the rapid adoption of biotech in the US, Mexico and Argentina, combined with a large decrease in the Middle East, will mean the need for seed from Australia will decline significantly in the next three to five years.
"Biotech has not just introduced the Roundup Ready gene into lucerne but has also allowed the development of plants with significantly improved digestibility," Brendon said.
"Lucerne's major role is that of a fodder plant, so with these improvements in digestability of around 15-20pc, it has a massive impact on productivity and reduced animal waste." Establishing lucerne pastures in dryland areas becomes simpler.
"It is critical that we have the choice of growing biotech just as our competitors do interstate and overseas, because without that choice we will reduce our marketing and agronomic options.
"It is not enough to claim a price premium on non-biotech - there are a raft of other factors that affect that choice including yield and environmental benefits of reduced chemical use."
Damien said biotech varieties were attracting strong interest in the US, based largely on dairyfarmers' willingness to pay more for the more digestible lucerne fodder.
Having conducted plenty of research into biotech technology, Brendon said the family would feel "completely relaxed" about planting biotech crops on their farm.
"We're actually really concerned that we're missing out on the opportunity within our own business to capitalise on better cultivars across our cropping range," he said.
Jacinta Rose
Stock Journal's online editor.
Stock Journal's online editor.
