In Oregon, the self-proclaimed grass-seed capital of the world, a strain of genetically modified grass, developed by Scotts Miracle-Gro, has jumped the Snake River from test beds in Idaho and poses a risk to the $1-billion-a-year grass-seed industry, says the Portland Oregonian. Some growers and dealers “fear it’s only a matter of time before the altered seed reaches the Willamette Valley, the heart of Oregon’s grass business,” a potential catastrophe.
“Many international buyers will not buy genetically modified products, citing potential safety concerns,” said the Oregonian. “Some countries ban them outright.” At present, the GMO grass has been confirmed only in Jefferson County in central Oregon and Malheur County in south-central Oregon.
Scotts says it spends about $250,000 a year to control the runaway variety of bentgrass. It also says it has abandoned plans to commercialize the GMO grass, but “still wants it deregulated. And the federal agency, which had refused for 14 years to sign off on the new grass, suddenly seemed eager to do so,” says the Oregonian. The USDA agency “could grant the company’s request as early as this week.”