Friday, September 09, 2011
What Are You Doing With Your Viptera Corn?
You planted Syngenta’s Agrisure Viptera and it is ready to harvest, but once it is in the truck, what are you going to do with it? The announcement by Bunge which indicated it would not accept the Viptera hybrid set off a firestorm in which other grain companies fueled the fire with their own statements rejecting Viptera. So what do you do with a bin full of corn no one seems to want?
Since Bunge is a major player in the export market, it probably knows what corn is acceptable and what is not acceptable to foreign buyers. But where does Viptera stand? Bunge said Viptera is not accepted in China, and will not be until next March at the earliest, and since China’s purchases of US corn have grown this year from 1.5 to 2 million tons, Bunge did not want to sacrifice that market. The result was a lawsuit filed by Syngenta against Bunge refuting the claim, but University of Illinois agricultural law specialist Bryan Endres says, “Competing lawsuits generally are inefficient methods to resolve business disputes—especially among large entities such as Bunge and Syngenta.”
Syngenta’s claim was that Bunge injured its business reputation, but also “intentionally interfered with contractual relations between Syngenta and the farmers who purchased Viptera seed.” Farmers will not be gaining anything if Syngenta wins the lawsuit, but Syngenta says there are outlets for the seed, if you cannot find any locations near your farm. The company says, delivering to elevators accepting grain with the Agrisure Viptera trait. Delivering to local feedlots, feed mills or ethanol plants that do not export Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS) to China. Storing grain with the Agrisure Viptera trait until Chinese export approval is received (expected late March 2012).
Bunge was the target of a lawsuit by the National Corn Growers, which said, The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has posted a message regarding this matter on its website noting, “Commercialization of Viptera was done in accordance with the U.S. regulatory approval system and met the policy requirements of NCGA and Biotechnology Industry Organization.”
In the meantime, other grain exporters were also getting into the fray. Cargill and ADM said their elevators would accept it, if there is written notice before harvest and they can determine where to store it. They apparently believed that Viptera would soon become acceptable to their markets and they would accept, but segregate it. Syngenta says it is accepted in more locations than we will visit in the next couple of years, The trait is approved for cultivation in Canada, Argentina and Brazil, and for import in the key markets of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Korea and Taiwan. Despite those available markets, Bunge is sticking to its plan and not taking any grain containing the Viptera genetics.
So where does that leave a Cornbelt farmer with Viptera in his truck, combine, or field? According to Syngenta, Cargill will accept the corn, but only at certain locations. Other announcements by Syngenta indicate that Cargill will not take the Viptera corn at its wet corn mills. But Syngenta is also trying to find locations where the hybrid will be welcome. In a letter to growers, Syngenta says in all cases, alert the grain buyer before delivery or acceptance of the grain.
Syngenta says it is working by zip code to identify potential buyers and whether they would accept the Viptera traits. And they added, “You can also work directly with your Syngenta reseller to determine potential options for your grain. Syngenta is accumulating information regarding sites that have indicated that they are accepting grain with the Agrisure Viptera™ trait by ZIP code. To access this information, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 800-319-1360 between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. CST, Monday through Saturday. We will also continue to provide updates.
Summary:
It was not your fault that Viptera could not be sold in China, prior to the fall harvest season. Bunge will not take it, wanting to be able to export to China among others. ADM and Cargill will take the corn, but after being alerted ahead of delivery. Syngenta is trying to identify grain elevators by zip code where it might be welcome
Posted by Stu Ellis on 09/09 at 03:13 AM | Permalink
Comments
Posted by: Ryan Bradley at November 3, 2011 3:03PM
I recently put up a summary of the viptera situation at: http://intlcorn.com/seed site 2012/Regulatory/Viptera.html
Posted by: Paul Christensen at February 21, 2012 2:02PM
Syngenta lost the lawsuit against Bungee. The Iowa Court indicated it was a Syngenta problem. Law firms are evaluating potential claims.
Ryan:
Thanks for the update! What do you see as the fallout?
~Stu