As corn harvest begins, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) is working to remind all producers who have planted corn containing Agrisure Duracade of their obligations under strict stewardship program protocols developed for the launch of this new product.

Duracade is biotech trait commercialized by Syngenta to help control rootworms. It is approved in the United States for production and use and is approved for import by Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. However, any amount of Duracade in corn shipments is not yet approved in China or the European Union, potentially causing serious trade disruptions if varieties containing Duracade are inappropriately comingled with other commodities. 

“Decisions made on the farm can have big international trade impacts,” said USGC President and CEO Tom Sleight. “With the new crop coming in, it is extremely important that producers as well as the entire value chain strictly adhere to the Agrisure Duracade stewardship program on the farm and as the grain makes its way to customers.”

Syngenta began a limited-acre introductory launch of Agrisure Duracade for the 2014 crop year, and Agrisure Duracade corn is just beginning to enter the U.S. distribution channels. It’s critical that corn containing this trait be segregated from export cargoes headed to countries where it has not yet been approved.

Syngenta and its grain handler partner, Gavilon, are working to make sure all farmers growing Duracade are aware of how to comply with stewardship program protocols. Gavilon also guarantees its ability to pick up and purchase – at fair market price – any Agrisure Duracade corn for which an alternative approved buyer is not found. 

The Chinese market is particularly sensitive to traits the country’s regulators have not yet approved. The Chinese market for U.S. corn and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is currently being disrupted by regulatory requirements related to another trait, MIR 162, which is approved in the U.S. and around the world but not yet in China.

Producers with questions about the appropriate marketing of Agrisure Duracade corn should contact their local seed provider for appropriate local marketing options or call Gavilon’s Duracade Desk at 1-844-559-1500.

Farmers can also learn more about the appropriate stewardship of biotech traits through the National Corn Growers Association’s Know Before You Grow website at http://www.ncga.com/for-farmers/know-before-you-grow.