18 Jan 2010 --- The U.S. Supreme Court announced that it has granted Monsanto Company's petition for review of a federal district court order which halted planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa in 2007, pending completion of an environmental impact statement (EIS) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

"USDA's regulatory approval process was short-circuited without any hearing to consider the views of impacted farmers and consideration of sound science," said Stephen P. Welker, Monsanto Alfalfa and Sugarbeet Lead. "We view the Supreme Court's action to hear our appeal as important for American farmers and look forward to presenting our case to the Supreme Court in the coming months. We believe alfalfa growers deserve choice in the products that are available to them."

Monsanto filed the petition with the U.S. Supreme Court in Oct. 2009, arguing that the 2007 injunction by Judge Charles R. Breyer should not have been ordered without first holding an evidentiary hearing. As a result, the ban imposed unnecessary restrictions and costs on alfalfa hay and seed growers. Monsanto and Forage Genetics petitioned the appellate court twice between 2007 and 2008 to fully consider the scientific evidence and tailor any relief ordered pending the governmental agency completion of an EIS.

Roundup Ready alfalfa was reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and was also approved by the USDA before it first went on the market in 2005. Prior to the injunction, Roundup Ready alfalfa was planted by approximately 5,500 growers across 263,000 acres. Although alfalfa is the fourth-largest crop grown in the U.S. with 23 million acres grown in 48 U.S. states annually, only about 1% is currently Roundup Ready.

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) completed a draft EIS in late 2009 and recently announced the 60-day open comment period for the draft EIS would occur between December 18, 2009, and February 16, 2010.