Prodigene To Pay $250,000 Fine

Biotech crop developer ProdiGene Inc. said last Friday it had agreed to pay a $250,000 fine as part of a settlement with the USDA regarding inadvertent contamination of Nebraska soybeans with its experimental pharmaceutical corn.

The privately-owned Texas company will also pay an estimated $2.8 million to buy and help destroy the 500,000 bu of soybeans that were accidentally contaminated by the biotech corn and placed into locked storage by the USDA.

The settlement with USDA also requires ProdiGene to post a $1 million bond and help develop a compliance program for future pharmaceutical crops.

Editors note: Richard Brock, Soybean Digest's Marketing Editor, is president of Brock Associates, a farm market advisory firm, and publisher of The Brock Report.

To see more market perspectives, visit Brock's Web site at www.brockreport.com.