Though many said they thought technology would ultimately be beneficial for wheat producers as well as consumers, plans by Monsanto Co to bring a GM wheat to market between 2003-2005 were seen by many as the wrong product at the wrong time. "With five classes of wheat in the US we already can give the customer what he wants," said US. Wheat Associates board member Fred Elling, a Montana wheat grower.

"Why should we grow something they don't want?" Elling and others said that international reluctance to embrace GM foods will hurt US exports of all wheat if a GM strain is introduced. "We're in favor of biotechnology, but we're already struggling to have our grain exported," said Kansas Association of Wheat Growers president Dean Stoskopf. "There is a lot of concern."

The US has seen US corn exports hit hard by recent contamination of food-grade corn with non-food approved StarLink biotech corn, particularly in sales to top customer Japan. Efforts to segregate the GM corn from non-GM corn failed, resulting in product recalls and angry importers.

With the corn problems still ongoing, earlier this week a Japanese customer expressed strong reservations to the US wheat industry about GM wheat prospects there, adding to a long list of negative comments and concerns that have been recorded from many countries, according to US Wheat Associates, which markets US wheat internationally.

But with St Louis-based Monsanto moving ahead with the world's first GM wheat product, a Roundup Ready variety that will be resistant to herbicide, wheat industry leaders were using this week's gathering to formulate a strategy aimed at easing the introduction.

To that end, the wheat industry has reached an agreement with Monsanto that calls for the establishment of an industry committee that will review an identity preservation system now being developed by Monsanto for GM wheat.The committee will "criticize and provide input" to Monsanto on the IP system, which should be developed by the end of 2001, said Darrell Hanavan, chairman of the joint biotechnology committee of NAWG and US Wheat Associates.

The industry has also given Monsanto a list of 17 key wheat importers and has asked the company to work to gain customer acceptance in those markets, said Hanavan. "What we hope to avoid is that we have a customer base that won't accept it," he said.

"We want it to be a successful introduction." Hanavan said the industry believes it is preferable to introduce a consumer-driven GM wheat product first, in order to build market demand, rather than the producer-demand driven Roundup Ready.

Several companies are in the process of a GM wheat that would directly benefit consumers, including Monsanto, but the Roundup Ready wheat is the nearest to commercialization, and is not likely to be delayed, industry experts said. That makes many nervous, including those in the milling industry, said North American Millers Association president Betsy Faga. Millers are very worried about the ability to adequately segregate GM from non-GM wheat, and somewhat skeptical about how well an identity preservation system will work. Consumer tolerance and acceptance will be key, Faga said. For its part, Monsanto officials see the concerns as valid, said spokeswoman Kelly Clauss.