Rust Never Sleeps: A New Enemy for Soybean Farmers

Soybean growers and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture have been actively tracking the spread of a lethal blight known as soybean rust. Though it recently jumped from Africa to South America, and has long devastated soybean crops in Asia, so far the fungus has yet to make an appearance in North America.

Soybean farmers are understandably nervous about this wind-born fungus, mainly because it takes three applications of fungicide to slow it, and no current genetically modified soybeans are immune. Worse, soybean rust can claim up to 80% of a crop, and American farmers who have toured fields in Brazil are astonished at how fast the blight spreads - usually a matter of days.

Furthermore, if soybean rust were to hit the U.S. its toll on the chemically unprotected organic soybean industry would probably be considerable. Soybeans are Minnesota's most lucrative crop, generating $1.32 billion in 2000, and while organics are a small percentage of that number, a large crop-loss could conceivably hit small organic farmers harder, since they depend so greatly on the premium price netted by organics.

Few farmers, however, could withstand an 80% loss of any crop.

To prepare for soybean rust's potential arrival, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture wants to build a plant pathology research facility on the University of Minnesota St.Paul campus. The U.S. government has approved only a few quarantine laboratories where research on voracious blights like soybean rust may take place (i.e., Hawaii, where an ocean would prevent accidental spread to the continental U.S.). According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, "A Minnesota facility will permit research on plant pathogens and those pests of greatest concern to our region." To show support for all farmers, contact your state congressional representative and call for funding this project fully.

With domestic soybean yields down in the last few seasons, the chance of soybean rust entering the country will increase if the U.S. is forced to bump up its imports, as it plans to do this year. Consequently, Department of Agriculture officials are watching closely for the potential appearance of soybean rust this summer.