Stewardship principles for the introduction of roundup ready Canola

| Date: 19 Jun 2008

Craig Farlow, Monsanto

The following information has been provided for this Update program by Monsanto.


With the recent lifting of the moratorium on GM canola in the south eastern states, we anticipate a number of growers will participate in our commercial pilot of Roundup Ready canola in 2008. Stewardship is integral to the overall success, acceptance and future sustainability of this new technology and as such it is important we establish a complementary program to support grower activities.

Monsanto’s grower stewardship program for Roundup Ready
canola aims to:
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements
• Allow the co-existence of different canola production systems
• Achieve the sustainability of both Roundup Ready technology and Roundup (glyphosate)
herbicide
• Enable growers to maximise the overall benefit from the technology.

The key components of the stewardship program are:
• Standards for managing the technology
• Communication and training to ensure that the standards are understood
• Auditing and compliance activities to verify that the standards have been implemented
• Reporting deviations from the standards and any other adverse events.

Standards for managing the technology
Monsanto Australia will manage the technology in line with the requirements of government agencies (including the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator and the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority) and industry bodies. In turn Monsanto will steward the technology by setting standards that users of the technology must meet. The standards cover:

Industry/Government Standards
Standards will be set by different government and industry bodies. Monsanto Australia
and its supply chain partners will operate in accordance with these standards, including:
• Australian Seeds Federation National Code of Practice for Seed Labelling and Marketing
• OGTR License for Roundup Ready canola DIR 020/2002
• APVMA Herbicide Registration for Roundup Ready herbicide.

Monsanto Standards (Agreements)
Agreements between Monsanto Australia and key parties (including growers, canola seed companies and grain marketers) specify actions to manage the technology in a manner that is consistent with this stewardship strategy.

These include:
1. Agreements with seed companies, in which they agree to follow:
• Quality Assurance Guidelines.
• Distribution/Sales Requirements.
2. Technology User Agreements (TUA) with growers, under which they agree to take actions
outlined in the:

Crop Management Plan (CMP) which is made up of the following parts:

In crop management:
o Agronomic
o Regulatory requirements
o Weed control strategies.

Post crop management:
o Volunteer management
o Seed and grain handling.

Resistance Management Plan
o Aims to ensure sustainable use of Roundup & Roundup Ready
technology
o Paddock Risk Assessment Management Option Guide (PRAMOG) –
required to be completed by each grower, PRAMOG is a tool which
identifies existing risk potential for glyphosate resistance
development and suggests additional management options to
minimise this risk in the years after growing Roundup Ready canola.
This recognises that each paddock has a unique Glyphosate
Resistance Risk Profile , and allows growers to choose management
options that are complementary to their individual farm planning
requirements.

3. Agreements with grain marketers regarding integrity of grain supply chain.

Accreditation Program
Monsanto will be conducting these courses with growers and / or agronomists to give them sufficient understanding to:
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and other relevant standards
• Use the technology successfully in terms of crop agronomy and weed management.

Before a grower is permitted to purchase or use Roundup Ready canola they must have
successfully completed a Roundup Ready canola accreditation course.

Compliance and Auditing
Monsanto will implement a comprehensive compliance program to verify that the standards will be met. This will include:
• Grower compliance responsibilities and audits
• Audits of other stakeholders (eg seed producers & distributors, grain marketers
and handlers etc)
• Reports to regulators on compliance with license/registration conditions.


Further information


Craig Farlow Ph: 03 9522 7122
(Monsanto)

Tony May Ph: 03 9522 7122
(Monsanto)