Last week Hugo and I attended a nearby community meeting concerning

a local farmer, Marshall Bailleau growing canola near a suburban area.

The 60 or so people who were there were all there because of their

concern regarding how his crop was going to affect them.

Marshall’s argument was that he was doing the community a service by growing GM canola

because he could stop using deadly weedicides - which he said were more

harmful than Roundup which was perfectly safe and did not harm

the environment. He added that the bees loved visiting his canola too.

He then pointed out how much research he had done prior to planting

the GM crop - he had read the OGTR all 212 pages of it, and in particular pointed out

that GM canola was safe to human health. He also referred

to the Vic Govt report headed by Sir Gus Nossal which found GM to be

of benefit to the environment. Lastly to add his final blow he left copies

of the Vic Govt media release which promised that GM canola would be

kept separate from other grains and that consumers would be able to

choose GM or nonGM because it would be labelled.

He also said that his growing GM canola would not affect anyone else

because there were no cases where GM canola had escaped!

Hugo and I were shaking our heads by this time. I have to say that

I did get up in particular to express my opinion regarding Monsanto’s

corporate strategy to make the farmers pawns in their hands. Also

to state that many farmers are not finding any need to use any chemicals

to get rid of weeds. I also asked if he was aware that the French farmers

had discovered that Roundup was harmful to the environment as it

was escaping into the nearby waterways. Due to this fact Monsanto are

forbidden by law to advertise that it is non residual. His response

was that the Roundup used here was different!

The evening concluded with 2 votes: 1. To recommend that the 2

neighbouring shires be GM Free and 2. That any person or business

affected by the growing of GM be compensated. both votes passed

almost unanimously.

The thing that amazed us most that Marshall had the courage to come to

a local meeting but was so out of touch with his community. He seemed to

have no sense of anything being awry. Does he realise that believing that

Monsanto is better for the farmers is akin to believing that the fox will

look after the chickens?!

What do you think?

www.farmingsecrets.com Presents a segment from “Walk the Talk” #3 Part 2.

Do you have a problem with aphids, RLEMs, locusts and other pests on your farm? Ron Smith and Maarten Stapper explains why there are no insect pests on this farm!

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www.farmingsecrets.com  Presents: A clip extracted from Walk the Talk #3  Part 1. How to get rid of Blue Green Algae. This is a massive problem where dams and inland waterways become toxic. Listen to this simple but effective method to solve it once and for all.

We have often read that pests do not attack healthy crops.
But how do you grow crops that resist pest attacks?

At Horseshoe Bend Agrosystem an experiment was trialled to go
sustainable. It wasn’t without its problems but after several years
where were the pests?

Listen in as Elaine Ingham explains what happened.

What two factors are essential to healthy farming. Listen to Elaine as she divulges the secrets needed to prevent disease and promote healthy plant growth.

This is an excerpt from Elaine’s Amazing 2 day course ” True Fertility Workshop” jammed packed with 6 DVD’s and a workbook to jot down your progress.

Have you got textbook looking pastures but still have problems?
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“What disease?” says Stuart Larsson when asked about changing to organic farming and incidence of disease.
It’s common to find that the farmers who are using a no chemical approach with their farming, reduce their disease problems.

23.apr.08
Northern Star
Emma O’Neill

Soybean grower Stuart Larsson was cited as saying he believes the success of the Australian soy bean industry rests on the ban of GMOs during the harvest and production of the bean, adding, “The Australian soy bean market isn’t competitive worldwide in terms of production. The only reason we are surviving is because we are one of the only remaining GMO-free markets. It’s vital we stay that way. The government lifted the ban on using GMOs on canola in February, and if the ban was lifted on soy beans as well it would be devastating.”
The lifting of the GMO ban on canola crops wasn’t good news for soy bean growers, according to local agriculture academic Dave Forrest.
“Soy bean growers are already on the list as one of the next crops to lift the ban, and now that the door is open for bees to travel from canola to soy crops,” Mr Forrest said.
“It will make it hard for growers to prove to overseas markets that their soy beans are GMO-free.

Ref:http://www.northernstar.com.au/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3770376