Organic farmer to sue over GM contamination

An organic farmer in the Great Southern says he will sue the owner of a neighbouring farm, after being stripped of his organic certification because genetically modified canola was found on his property.

Kojonup farmer Steven Marsh alleges the GM material blew in from a neighbouring property belonging to Michael Baxter.

Mr Marsh says he will lose a significant amount of income without his organic certification.

"Clearly I'm facing losses because I've lost my premiums on those crops and products I produce," he said.

"How long those seeds are going to be in that ground and viable now because they are just everywhere, we've got to ascertain."

He says he has been left with no option but to take legal action.

"Nobody enjoys pursuing their neighbour but what do we do?" he said.

Mr Marsh's lawyer says the damage bill could reach millions of dollars.

Mr Baxter has vowed to defend the allegation and says he will have the backing of multinational biotechnology company Monsanto, which certified his GM crop.

Support

Western Australia's organic farming community has rallied behind Mr Marsh.

The state president of the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Kim Hack, said previously that Mr Marsh has the support of many farmers across the state.

"We're going to back him all the way and he's being backed up by conventional farmers as well," he said.

The Network of Concerned Farmers' Julie Newman also said previously that this case highlighted that GM farmers could face legal action if neighbouring properties are contaminated.

Ms Newman said the State Government had failed to listen to calls for a risk management strategy.

"The GM farmer should be worried because they are ultimately liable and this is an avenue where the non-GM farmer can say right we'll follow this example and we'll do the same and it could be a class action if you're not sure who causes it," she said.

The Agriculture Minister Terry Redman said earlier the government was working with Mr Marsh to try to regain his organic status.

He said while he is confident the incident is a one-off, the department would look at measures to prevent a repeat.

Mr Redman said there are no plans to reinstate a ban on the growing of GM canola.