This week's U.S. Supreme Court decision moves up the chance for farmers to resume planting Roundup Ready alfalfa. If USDA establishes regulatory parameters in time, this could occur as early as this fall, says David Snively, Monsanto senior vice president and general counsel. Snively briefed media on Monday's high court decision that reversed a lower court's ban on commercial sales of Roundup Ready alfalfa. The next step in the process will be USDA and its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) establishing any interim regulatory steps while the products Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is being completed. "We believe USDA and APHIS will come forward with a proposal to allow interim planting and partial deregulation while the EIS is being prepared," says Snively. It's likely USDA and APHIS will do this in time for farmers to seed Roundup Ready alfalfa this fall, he adds. Other ruling highlights include: Establishing precedence for future genetically modified crop. Snively notes there may be future legal battles over genetically modified technology. However, the case paves a way for the regulatory process to be based on science, and not on legal procedure. "America is the envy of the world for our regulatory system," Snively says. "When we saw this litigation had the potential to disrupt what was a sound regulatory system, it was important to get this settled in the right way. Yesterday's decision from the Supreme Court did that." The case establishes precedent for other genetically modified crops, such as Roundup Ready sugar beets, he adds. Last September, a federal judge voided USDA's 2005 approval of Roundup Ready sugar beets. Oral arguments regarding overturning this decision will start July 9. No threat to alfalfa exports. "We won't commercially release material without securing the necessary regulatory clearance of major exporting countries," says Snively. Thus far, Roundup Ready alfalfa is approved by export customers like Japan and Canada. No threat from glyphosate-resistant weed issues. "We do have programs in place for weed resistance management," says Snively. He adds most of the alfalfa-growing regions are not in areas of the U.S. where glyphosate weed resistance is most prominent today. More Roundup Ready alfalfa acres. Currently, 5,500 U.S. farmers grow Roundup Ready alfalfa across 220,000 acres. "We hope for a massive jump on this number when it is cleared from a regulatory standpoint," says Snively. "Alfalfa in the U.S. is the fourth largest crop market, and just 1 to 2% of this is penetrated by this seed technology. So, there is tremendous upside potential." No drift or genetic transfer concerns. "Obviously, if you have Roundup hitting a non-Roundup Ready crop, you have an issue," says Snively. However, existing guidelines for proper application to prevent drift from occurring will be in place as they are for other Roundup Ready technologies, he says. Nor are there worries about genetic drift from genetically modified alfalfa to conventional alfalfa via honeybee pollination. "You don't have gene uptake in that situation," says Snively.