New law fuels farmers in fight against canola crops

Biodiesel from Washington-grown canola seed may be all the rage for people interested in a renewable, domestic form of energy.

But a new law gives some farmers in one of the state's oldest industries the power to keep canola away from their crops.

"All we wanted was a canola-free zone," said Kirby Johnson, a Skagit Valley seed farmer.

After a year of meeting with state bureaucrats and watching local and state leaders tout the benefits of fuel made from Washington-grown crops, seed farmers such as Kirby can now petition the Washington State Department of Agriculture to establish restrictive zones for canola production.

On Saturday Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law a measure that would require anyone wanting to grow canola in such a district to receive permission from the district's director.

The reason for the move is that genetically modified canola can cross-pollinate with cabbage, broccoli and similar crops. Until now, seed farmers in Washington have relied on an honor system and informal meetings to decide what buffers are needed between crops.

In the Skagit Valley and Columbia Basin, the state's center for seed production, the practice has been a 2-mile buffer between similar seed crops.

The seed industry is based on farmers' reputations to deliver genetically exact seeds. Cross-pollination from an acre of canola upwind from a cabbage-seed farm could cause the loss of the two-year growing season, Johnson said. Even if the cross-pollination does not occur, having a genetically modified crop near a seed field can cause worried buyers in Japan and Europe to cancel orders.

The Skagit Valley seed industry is worth $20 million and provides half of the world's cabbage seed.

"The vegetable-seed industry has been in Washington for over 100 years and production of canola for biofuels and bio-products is a new industry that could help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and improve farm income," Gregoire said in a news release. "This bill allows canola and vegetable-seed crops to coexist, encouraging the development of new bio-fuel crops and farmers, while protecting our existing crops and farmers."

The other protection seed farmers have is the marketplace, said Steven Benning, chairman of Washington State Canola Commission.

The price of wheat is at a record high and most farmers are not interested in trying new crops, he said.

Still, enough farmers are experimenting on both sides of the mountains to make seed farmers nervous.

"We are not growing it for political correctness or landscape design," said state Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, who supported the bill and is growing 45 acres of canola this year. "We are growing it to make money."