THERE are no Edsels on the typical Canadian farm, but there are plenty of Fords. Ford Motors’ 1957 release of the Edsel followed unprecedented publicity and hype, but expected sales didn’t materialize. Now the word Edsel has become synonymous with commercial failure.
Fortunately it didn’t stop Ford from developing new technology and releasing other models of cars and trucks. Each new release carries a risk, but risk can be mitigated by product research, development and market studies.
The product hits the market and the company hopes to see business flourish through public acceptance. Such is the way of the manufacturing world.
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That’s what Monsanto did when it commercialized Roundup Ready canola in the 1990s. The seed was made available to growers, who tried it and appreciated its advantages over conventional canola. In 2002, the Canola Council of Canada reported that 45 percent of canola acreage in Western Canada was Roundup Ready. In similar fashion, biotech corn, soybeans and cotton found markets after their introduction.
But now Monsanto appears to be employing different tactics. It has told growers that it wants them to acknowledge full support for the “timely deregulation and commercialization” of Roundup Ready wheat, says a letter to American wheat groups.
If strong and unambiguous support is not forthcoming, the company says it will limit its biotechnology-based research on wheat.
A similar support-seeking letter will soon be distributed to Canadian wheat farmers, according to Michael Doane, Monsanto’s director of industry affairs for wheat and sugar beets.
In other words, growers must support Roundup Ready wheat or forgo other benefits that the company’s biotechnological wheat research might develop.
Despite Doane’s assertions to the contrary, the letter smacks of a threat.
Nobody knows the potential that biotechnology research might yield. Monsanto has resources at its disposal to investigate that potential, whether it involves superior weed control or other advantages. It’s not the only company so equipped, but it is a major player.
Tying future wheat research to wheat industry endorsement of one product seems short-sighted at best and desperate at worst. Is Monsanto afraid it has an Edsel? Whether Roundup Ready wheat is good or bad, the market will decide on its future.
Doane says the company’s solicitation for support is just good business practice involving a product developed at great expense. But a threat, however polite, does no favours for the company’s reputation, nor will it elicit support from growers until they are convinced it is warranted.
Growers are awaiting clear signals of market acceptance, regulatory approval and workable identity preservation.
It is in those areas that Monsanto’s pressure would best be applied.
