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Missouri/EU trade mission spotlights GMOs

A recent trade trip to the European Union led by Missouri’s governor could open some doors for agriculture. Missouri Ag Director Richard Fordyce tells Brownfield the U.S. has a great ally in Spain, “Spain’s number-one export is pork meat. And, so, they are really unable to grow very much of the feed. So they import a huge percentage of the feed for the pork industry in Spain. And, a lot of that, most of that comes from the U.S., and some Missouri, specifically.”

Gary Porter, vice president of the Missouri Corn Growers Association, was also on the trip and was asked by the manager of a large farm in Spain how the U.S. gets such big yields.  Porter told him a lot of it was seed technology, “When the interpreter would tell him what I said, I could just see it in his eyes – how they would light up and how he was so interested and how he would like to have that seed.”

And Porter says that Spanish farmer will tell his own government about the benefits of GMOs. Porter, who farms near Mercer, Missouri, tells Brownfield it’s about one-on-one conversations and education, “With him working on the inside and me working on the outside, I think we can get this accomplished.”

The Missouri delegation also visited Germany and Italy. Porter says Italy was the least open to discussing seed technology.

AUDIO:  Interview with Richard Fordyce (8:00 mp3):

AUDIO:  Interview with Gary Porter (9:00 mp3):