Sugar Beets and Fracking

I'm going to leave the posting below as I originally wrote it, but after thinking about this issue, I'm not so sure that this story is as simple as it seems or as simply as I made it out to be. Perhaps these genetically-modified beets are not the right way to go. I only have access to what I read in the newspapers and on-line so I don't have the full story.

Original Blog

Anyone who lives in western North Dakota and eastern Montana, as well as along the Red River Valley, the eastern border of North Dakota, knows how big a deal the sugar beet industry is, so the news that the sugar beet industry could be severely impacted by a judge's ruling has eerie foreshadowing to what might happen if EPA is allowed to develop rules for fracking. Just saying.

It is generally accepted that if the EPA is allowed to write the rules for fracking, it will stop almost all new drilling in the Bakken for at least two years. 

Is it just me, or does it seem that the whole US government is against the working man and woman? No wonder the mid-October unemployment rate is now at 10 percent.

But for investors, an opportunity. A big opportunity. Seeds. Fertilizer. Sugar. Ya gotta love it.

It is an interesting story, if I have my facts straight: the beets were genetically modified to be resistant to a herbicide, Monsanto's Roundup. The genetically-modified beet seeds are produced by ... drum roll ... yes, Monsanto. There are claims that this has resulted in more resistant weeds requiring ever increasing amounts of insecticide.

Trivia: Minnesota is the leading producer of sugar beets in the US; North Dakota is second. I would assume the Red River Valley accounts for the vast majority of those sugar beets.

UPDATES

February 26, 2011: Court sides with Monsanto and USDA -- genetically-modified sugar beet seeds can be sown.

October 19, 2010: Good news. This might not be such a big story after all. There was no mention of it in today's Fargo Forum. The only story was this:

American Crystal Sugar Co. on Friday told growers they could harvest all their beets, said Dan Bernhardson, agricultural director for the Moorhead-based cooperative.