Michael Weeks
U.S. Registration Manager, United States, BASF
Expert Bio
As US Registration Manager, Michael is responsible for working with the United States Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and Food and Drug Administration in the review of food, feed, and environmental safety for all GM Seeds products. Michael has been worked at Bayer since 2009, and has worked in the areas of regulatory compliance and product registration, and as an active participant of the Biotechnology Quality Management System, an initiative of USDA APHIS Biotechnology Regulatory Service. Prior to coming to Bayer, Michael held a research position within the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Program. He is now U.S. Registration Manager at BASF.
Michael is a graduate of North Carolina State University, where he earned a B.Sc. in Agronomic Sciences in the department of Crop Science. He also holds a M.Sc. in Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In his undergraduate and graduate studies, he investigated sustainable agricultural systems employing organic, conventional, and GM production methods.
Studies, Articles and Answers
Showing 3 out of 3 results
Question
A: In the United States, field trials of new GMO crops are regulated by the Biotechnology Regulatory Service (BRS), which is a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). In order to have a field trial of a regulated GMO crop, the developer or researcher must have a protocol for minimizing cross-pollination to compatible plants that are not part of the field trial.USDA APHIS BRS maintains guidance on how GMO crop researchers and product developers should reproductively isolate the most common crops field tested in the United States. T [...]
Business Practices GMOs & FarmersQuestion
Q: how are long term pollination restrictions affecting the use of gmos in the US
A: Thank you for posting your question concerning pollination restrictions and the effects on GMOs in the U.S. Farmers can grow organic, GM and conventional crops in the same area, and in fact, many growers use all three of these types of farming practices on the same farm and do grow organic corn next to GM corn. In order to minimize pollen flow between these crops, growers utilize many management practices. For example, farmers may plant at recommended separation distances, time their plantings so neighboring fields are not pollinating at the same time, use crop rotations and communicate [...]
A: Thank you for posting your question concerning pollination restrictions and the effects on GMOs in the U.S. Farmers can grow organic, GM and conventional crops in the same area, and in fact, many growers use all three of these types of farming practices on the same farm and do grow organic corn next to GM corn. In order to minimize pollen flow between these crops, growers utilize many management practices. For example, farmers may plant at recommended separation distances, time their plantings so neighboring fields are not pollinating at the same time, use crop rotations and communicate [...]
Question
Q: how are long term pollination restrictions affecting the use of gmos in the US
A: Thank you for posting your question concerning pollination restrictions and the effects on GMOs in the U.S. Farmers can grow organic, GM and conventional crops in the same area, and in fact, many growers use all three of these types of farming practices on the same farm and do grow organic corn next to GM corn. In order to minimize pollen flow between these crops, growers utilize many management practices. For example, farmers may plant at recommended separation distances, time their plantings so neighboring fields are not pollinating at the same time, use crop rotations and communicate [...]
A: Thank you for posting your question concerning pollination restrictions and the effects on GMOs in the U.S. Farmers can grow organic, GM and conventional crops in the same area, and in fact, many growers use all three of these types of farming practices on the same farm and do grow organic corn next to GM corn. In order to minimize pollen flow between these crops, growers utilize many management practices. For example, farmers may plant at recommended separation distances, time their plantings so neighboring fields are not pollinating at the same time, use crop rotations and communicate [...]