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The Farm Aid website<\/a>\u00a0poses the question \u201cWhat do GMOs mean for family farmers and our food?\u201d\u00a0<\/em>and goes on to say:<\/p>\n Corporate Control. <\/strong>Farmers who buy GE seeds must sign contracts that dictate how their crop is grown \u2013 including what chemicals to buy \u2013 and forbid them from saving seeds. This has given corporations incredible control over the production of major staple crops in America.<\/em><\/p>\n Let\u2019s examine this corporate control a little further and look at it from the family farm level. \u00a0My farm in particular. \u00a0When we buy Monsanto\u2019s GMO seeds we sign a Technology\/Stewardship Agreement. \u00a0Section 4 of the 2011 agreement I have on file covers everything the grower must agree to when purchasing these products. \u00a0Here\u2019s a quick rundown of the requirements.<\/p>\n This is the kind of seed our equipment cleans out; one reason #farmers<\/a> may prefer not to save and replant their own! pic.twitter.com\/UjyswNzKQr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Hannah Neuenschwander (@hannahaggie2014) December 6, 2016<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If you want to see the exact wording of the contract, click to view a\u00a0PDF of my 2011 Monsanto Technology\/Stewardship Agreement<\/a>\u00a0or enlarge the pictures below.<\/p>\n So there you have it. \u00a0That\u2019s what we have to agree to in order to make use of Monsanto\u2019s biotechnology on our farm. \u00a0I don\u2019t see anything in there that hurts my farm. \u00a0Neither does Iowa farmer Dave Walton<\/a>. \u00a0I don\u2019t have to buy their herbicides, and I don\u2019t have to buy anything from them next year if I don\u2019t want to. \u00a0The biggest problem I have with seed companies is that it seems like they phase out a variety from time to time that is a really strong performer on our farm. \u00a0I understand the concern organic farms have with GMO crops in close proximity to their own. \u00a0Those farmers have worked hard and shown patience in getting an organic certification, and they don\u2019t want to start over again. \u00a0Even though we don\u2019t have any neighbors farming organically, it\u2019s important that we are careful when making field applications. \u00a0We hope our neighbors do the same because our waxy corn<\/a> generally isn\u2019t RR and our popcorn definitely is not. \u00a0You could also have drift from any corn field do damage to soybeans next door, so even guys like me are sympathetic to the practices of other farms. We\u2019ve had corn on the border a field hurt or killed by someone assuming our crop is RR just like theirs. We also have neighbors with a habit of texting me before they spray.<\/p>\n Pioneer sends a similar package each year including the agreement and a product use guide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Another thing Farm Aid hits on is patents. They say GMO crops are patented and that\u2019s restrictive. Well guess what. Conventional seeds can have patents too as evidenced by the patent info on the seed tags of the wheat we buy. Ornamental plants can have patents. Organic crops can have patents<\/a>! The idea that only biotech seeds are patented is a misnomer. And patents expire. Arkansas has a public variety<\/a> of a RR soybean now. Farm Aid also claims Monsanto has \u201cfamously sued thousands of individual farmers.\u201d Really? I thought it was only 147 in the last two decades<\/a> since GMO crops hit the market?<\/p>\n So I\u2019ve laid it all out for you. A lot of people are concerned about these contracts farmers sign. You\u2019ve got my take as a family farmer written here in my own words, and you\u2019ve got a copy of and actual tech agreement pulled from my file drawer. I hope I\u2019ve provided enough info for you to draw your own conclusions. I\u2019d be happy to discuss them in the comment section!<\/p>\n Are Farmers Forced by Big Ag and Monsanto to Plant Seeds?<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"What's](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefarmerslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/image-3.jpeg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1\")
I\u2019m\u00a0a family farmer, and I have signed a Monsanto contract. \u00a0I\u2019m the 4th generation to work this land. \u00a0Somewhere along\u00a0the line the idea\u00a0corporations control farms or farmers are slaves to \u201cBig Ag\u201d came about. \u00a0People claim that we are beholden to corporations like Monsanto<\/a>\u00a0and have to sign unfair contracts to be privileged enough to use their seed. \u00a0They\u2019ll also claim that the contracts rope us into buying other inputs like insecticides\u00a0and herbicides from the same company. \u00a0We get a lot of our seed from agribusinesses like the \u201cevil\u201d Monsanto<\/a>\u00a0so I\u2019d like to other you my thoughts on this issue.<\/p>\nFarmer Perspective<\/h2>\n
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The Monsanto Contract<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nRelated Posts<\/h5>\n
Do Farmers Have Choice?
<\/a>Visiting Monsanto<\/a><\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n