Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/412680
Painted Mountain Corn variety that grows in the harsh dry mountainous regions of the West. Another corn breeder, Major Goodman at North Carolina State University, is developing pollen-blocking organic corn varieties for Southern growing regions. Another challenge for Kutka is that he is doing the breeding work part- time. His "day job," as he says, is coordinator for the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society Farm Breeding Club. Time Is of the Essence Organic Ready corn won't be the first pollen-blocking corn variety on the market. Iowa-based Blue River Hybrids has been selling PuraMaize organic corn hybrid varieties for the past three years. Similar to Organic Ready corn, PuraMaize contains the pollen-blocking Ga1S trait. Tests on PuraMaize corn harvested in 2012 and 2013 found that it was effective in reducing cross- pollination and contamination from GM corn. Samples from both years' harvest tested negative for GMOs "at the operational limit of 0.05 percent." Blue River Hybrids president Maury Johnson says the PuraMaize corn also produces yields that are competitive with other corn varieties. PuraMaize is a patented trait that Blue River licensed from Nebraska- based Hogemeyer Hybrids, which was later purchased by Pioneer Hi- Bred. Kutka and other corn breeders such as Margaret Smith at Cornell University and Major Goodman have opposed the patent, saying the Ga1S trait has been used for decades. Kutka wants other corn breeders and farmers to have ready access to his Organic Ready corn. Seeds will be released to the public along with short publications in the Maize Genetics Cooperation Newsletter in order to prevent their being patented. "ese seed releases are to encourage others to work with this trait and for organic farmers to grow as they wish," Kutka says. Breeding the pollen-blocking traits into corn is a process that takes time, and Kutka understands that time is of the essence. "ere is a lot of work on the breeder's side, but I really see this as the way we have to go," he says. "I want to see corn remain a profitable part of organic farming." Abby's Magazine - November/ December 2014 | Page 27