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Supporters of the Jackson County measure to ban GMO crops react Tuesday night after returns show it passing by a wide margin.

(AP Photo/Mail Tribune, Jamie Lusch)

Jackson County voters passed a controversial GMO crops ban Tuesday by a 2-1 margin.

The measure was one of the most bitterly fought battles in the May 20 primary and brought $1.3 million to a county with 118,000 voters. But even though the election is over, questions remain.

Q. What does the ban prohibit?

A. The measure requires residents to harvest, destroy or remove all genetically engineered plants. Exceptions are provided for certain health, educational, scientific and medical research institutions.

Q. Do farmers growing GMO crops need to destroy their crops immediately?

A. No. There is a 12-month transition period, so farmers who planted GMO crops this year can still harvest them.

Q. How many farmers grow GMO crops in Jackson County and what do they grow?

A. No agency tracks the number of farmers who grow GMO crops, so it's unclear. Don Skundrick, chairman of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, estimates that only about a dozen farmers grow GMO crops. Syngenta, the Swiss biotechnology firm that grows genetically engineered sugar beets for seed sales, leases multiple plots around the county. Most farmers who use GMO crops grow alfalfa.

Q. What is the county doing now that the measure has passed?

A. The county is not rushing out to hire code enforcement officers to enforce the ban immediately, Skundrick said. The county intends to use the 12-month transition period to plot out a complaint-driven process for code enforcement officers to follow. The measure's wording doesn't require the county to enforce it, he said.

"We've had conversations, but we've never set out a full plan on how to implement -- if we choose to implement," he said. "It's kind of wait and see at this moment."

Q. How much will the ban cost?

A. County administrator Danny Jordan estimated that enforcing the measure could cost up to $219,000 a year with a full-time code inspector, a hearing's officer, a testing contractor and administrative expenses. It's unlikely the county would actually end up spending that much, Skundrick said.

Q. What happens if uncooperative farmers don't comply with the measure and continue to grow GMO crops?

A. The measure outlines an abatement process that allows county officials to inspect private property, confiscate or destroy the GMO crops and charge the costs as a lien against the property. The process would require notification of the land owner and waiting periods at various steps.

The measure also allows private individuals or a group to take others to court. In such cases, neither party would be entitled to recover damages or the costs of litigation.

Q. I heard Josephine County passed a similar measure. What are officials there doing?

A. Josephine County officials are reviewing their measure to evaluate if it can be legally enforced. The Oregon Legislature in October passed a bill during a special session that made the state the sole regulator of seeds -- except for Jackson County, where the measure had already qualified for the ballot.

-- Yuxing Zheng