6/7/2004 - Saint Louis, Missouri... The American Soybean Association (ASA)is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to more rapidlyundertake development of a national strategy for controlling andmitigating the potential for an Asian soybean rust infestation in thecontinental United States. Rust is a devastating disease with thepotential to cause enormous losses in annual U.S. soybean production,resulting in serious consequences for domestic industry, including thelivestock sector.

ìMuch more aggressive and coordinated action is needed from theAdministration to prevent potentially adverse consequences to the U.S.soybean industry,î said ASA President Ron Heck, a soybean producer fromPerry, Iowa. ìASA has asked Secretary Veneman to take immediate steps toensure that U.S. agriculture is fully prepared to respond to and mitigatethe outbreak of rust, and requested a meeting to more fully discuss theseplans.î

According to a computer model developed by University of Illinoisresearchers, in cooperation with USDA scientists, ìthe disease has mostlikely spread to soybean-growing areas in Brazil and Venezuela locatednorth of the equator, making it inevitable that rust will reach the U.S.in a relatively short time... If itís already established there, we couldeven see rust in the U.S. as soon as the current growing season andcertainly no later than a year or two down the road.î

ASA, a membership organization representing 25,000 soybean producers,believes the United States is woefully unprepared at the present time todeal with the imminent threat of a soybean rust outbreak, and that thereare a number of actions USDA, the Environmental Protection Agency, andother Federal agencies must take that are critical to mitigate the impactof the rust fungus upon arrival. Key among these is approval of effectivefungicides for use on soybean rust, and ensuring that sufficientquantities of these products be locally available in advance of a rustinfestation. To facilitate local fungicide supplies, ASA is calling forthe development of a strategy to ensure adequate supplies will beavailable. The ASA, in close cooperation with USDA, state soybeanassociations, and others in the soybean industry, has begun a campaigndesigned to educate soybean farmers on the facts of soybean rust.

Nevertheless, ASA believes USDA needs to undertake additional educationalefforts to ensure producers, extension agents, crop consultants and othersinvolved in the field are able to identify rust as early as possible.Information and education also must be provided on fungicide applicationtiming, application equipment recommendations, and other practicalinformation that is essential to successful efforts to mitigate andprevent billions of dollars in losses to the U.S. soybean industry.

ìThe reality that exists today is that an effective soybean rustsurveillance program is not yet in place, adequate supplies ofcost-effective fungicides approved for use on soybeans do not exist, andprograms to provide widespread training and education to farmers, cropconsultants, and others have not been implemented,î Heck said. An ongoingresearch program is being carried out by the Agricultural Research Service(ARS) to develop rust resistant or tolerant soybean varieties. The soybeancheckoff has provided more than $1.1 million in soybean producer checkofffunds to support soybean rust research, and ASA is working with Congressto increase appropriations to fund additional work by ARS scientists.

ìResearch to identify rust resistant or tolerant soybean varieties must begreatly expanded,î Heck said. Over the course of the last two years, ASAhas worked closely with USDA Under Secretary Bill Hawks and USDAís Animaland Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to establish protocols forimports of soybean planting seed and soybean meal from rust-infestedcountries that, properly enforced, can effectively eliminate the risk ofcontamination. ASA is now seeking to ensure that any protocol developedfor importing whole soybeans from these countries will be equallyeffective.

ìASA appreciates the ongoing efforts by the Department to prevent theintroduction of rust in the United States as the result of imports,î Hecksaid. ìHowever, until key scientific questions are answered and sporeviability studies are completed, ASA believes imports of whole commoditysoybeans from rust-infected countries should not be contemplated.î ASA andother industry stakeholders are very concerned about the prospectivearrival of Asian rust in the United States and are prepared to work withUSDA and other agencies to develop a comprehensive plan that anticipatesand initiates appropriate responses to rust.

ìWe must acknowledge the potential that Asian rust will spread to theUnited States this year or in the next several years,î Heck said. ìUSDAmust take every science-based measure to prevent the introduction of rustinto the U.S., as well as take immediate steps to ensure that U.S.agriculture is fully prepared to respond to and mitigate the outbreak ofrust.î