Monsanto in
the UK

Farm-scale Evaluations in 2002

This was the last full year of a unique three year programme of farm scale trials in the UK. They are officially called Farm Scale Evaluations (FSEs). The Government's independent Scientific Steering Committee endorsed the methodology, statistical power and value of data collected in previous years, and produced the following recommendations of on-site requirements for each of the spring-sown crops for planting in 2002:

Spring oilseed rape - up to 27 sites

Forage maize - up to 35 sites

Beet (sugar/fodder) - up to 25 sites

In addition, 18 farm-scale sites of winter oilseed rape were sown this year, for harvesting in the summer of 2003. These were announced in the summer. Each field is planted with a GM crop in one half, and an equivalent non-GM crop in the other half. Fields are selected to provide a representative spread for each crop in terms of geographical spread and farm type. Field sizes typically range between 2 and 10 hectares.

As in previous years, none of the GM crops harvested in 2002 and 2003 will enter the human food or animal feed chains. For sugar/fodder beet, this can be guaranteed as harvesting of the GM crop is completed before harvesting of any conventional crop for sugar is begun.

The first GM crops trials in the UK took place in 1987. Over the past 15 years well over 600 individual trials of these crops have taken place in a range of different crop species, at different locations throughout the UK. Since the mid-1980s, there have been more than 50,000 field trials of GM crops in 45 countries around the world. Over 1,600 of these have been in EU member countries. Globally, more than 60 different crop species have been modified and tested, without any adverse effects.

For further information on the UK FSE's please see the government's pages on the DEFRA web site at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/fse/index.htm

Click to see Robert Key, UK Member of Parliament for Salisbury, Wiltshire who visited an East Anglian GM sugar beet trial in July 2002.