By Christopher Doering & Donnelle Eller, business@dmreg.com

Agribusiness companies including Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences are creating a “superweed crisis” by producing new technologies that are compounding weed resistance, according to an advocacy group.

The Union of Concerned Scientists said superweeds have developed due to a heavy dependence on Monsanto’s Roundup Ready, a seed platform first commercially introduced in the United States in 1996 that tolerates the company’s Roundup herbicide while killing nearby weeds. It has since blossomed into a major force in agriculture, commanding about a 90 percent share of all U.S. soybeans and 85 percent of corn planted each year.

The group said the expected approval of the “Enlist Weed Control System” from Dow AgroSciences — a package that would allow the application of its Enlist Duo herbicide on plants grown from its seeds — would further compound the resistance problem.

U.S. regulators, led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency, have signaled they’re ready to grant the required approvals by the end of this year. Dow Agro­Sciences expects to have corn and soybeans on the market for the 2015 growing season, with cotton coming a year later.

“Monsanto and the rest of the biotech industry claim to develop advanced agricultural technology, but in fact their response to resistant weeds and greatly increased herbicide use is more of the same — new herbicide-resistant crops that are immune to older, nastier herbicides like 2,4-D, dicamba, and isoxaflutole,” said Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Food and Environment Program.

Dow AgroSciences’ seeds are genetically engineered to resist several herbicides including one known as 2,4-D, a component of Agent Orange used by the U.S. military during Vietnam, and glyphosate, the main ingredient used in Monsanto’s Roundup.

Groups urge Biden to back renewable fuels

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association has written to Vice President Joe Biden, urging him to support a federal mandate calling for ethanol and biodiesel to be blended into the nation’s fuel supply, reminding him that he campaigned “as a strong champion” in 2007 and 2008.

The association and other advocates said they’re responding to a Reuters article that claims the vice president “played an instrumental role in the Obama administration’s proposal to gut America’s Renewable Fuel Standard.”

“If accurate, this report would confirm our worst suspicions — that Vice President Biden and the administration have done an about-face on their support for cleaner fuels, consumer choice and cutting oil dependence,” said Monte Shaw, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association director.

“Iowans and all Americans deserve to know where the vice president stands on the RFS,” said Shaw, a Republican candidate for Iowa’s 3rd U.S. Congressional district.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed lowering the renewable fuels mandate, with a final ruling expected in June.

The groups urged Biden and other national leaders to “not be fooled by the crocodile tears coming from the oil industry, who claim to be concerned about rising gasoline prices. Their argument is preposterous on its face.”

The letter, signed by two dozen Iowa agriculture and renewable fuels leaders, said support for renewable fuels “has already become a full-blown campaign issue in Iowa in 2014, and it will be a major issue for every candidate who visits Iowa in 2016.”

“This is a crucial juncture for America’s renewable fuel industry, and we cannot allow the oil industry to dominate the debate or bully our political leaders into backtracking to greater foreign oil dependence,” the letter said.

Iowa, with its first in the nation presidential caucus, is also a leader in ethanol and biodiesel production.

Companies to hire environmental interns

Fourteen Iowa businesses will work with college interns this summer to find new ways to reduce their companies’ environmental footprints.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources pollution prevention intern program matches upper-level college students with companies to research ways to eliminate or reduce waste — strategies that are expected to increase efficiencies, reduce costs and help conserve resources.

Since 2001, more than 160 Iowa companies, hospitals, universities and government agencies have participated in the program, accumulating about $72 million in savings, the DNR said. The companies cut 1.3 billion gallons of water use, reduced solid waste by 207,600 tons, and eliminated 838 tons of hazardous waste.

Some well-known companies participating in this year’s program include Tyson Foods in Council Bluffs, Winnebago Industries in Forest City, Procter & Gamble in Iowa City, Deere & Co. in Ottumwa, and Hy-Vee in West Des Moines.

The 12- to 24-week internships are paid. For more information on the program, go to www.iowap2services.com.

Labels help veterans promote ag products

A new nationwide labeling program will allow farmers, ranchers and fishermen who served in the military to use a special logo to promote their agricultural products.

The “Homegrown by Heroes” labeling was first created by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture in 2013. The label allows consumers and businesses purchasing agricultural products to see the logo in multiple areas, enabling them to select products that support U.S. farmer veterans. The initiative is now being expanded nationwide.

“Farming and military service are more closely linked than one might think,” said Michael O’Gorman, executive director of the Farmer Veteran Coalition. “Thousands of our servicemen and women leave the rural communities and farms they call home in order to serve our country in the military. Upon completion of their service, they often return home to resume work on the family farm.”

To qualify for the “Homegrown by Heroes” label, the individual must have served honorably or still be serving in any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and be at least 50 percent owner or operator of the farm business.

The Farmer Veteran Coalition said it has contracted with a marketing firm to design the artwork and other materials to be used for websites, stickers, packaging and displays. These materials will be provided and shipped at a minimal cost to participating veterans, the group said.

Interested veterans can apply through www.hgbh.org.

The nationwide rollout of the measure came from the Farmer Veteran Coalition through funding from Farm Credit, a provider of credit and other services to rural America.