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White Bear Lake, Minnesota

will this affect the prices and availability to growers?

Check it out here.
www.ifoam.org/press/press/neem_patent_victory.html

8/21/2006 1:39:22 AM

[email protected]

Well this is an interesting turn of events. The patent revocation pertains just to Europe right now. But this doesn't speak well for the US market.

This could become a real sticky wicket.

Here's my take on the radical organic market...They hate manufactured & bottled "stuff". Anything that might be sold from a shelf in a bottle is typically considered *bad* mostly since the people who are best equipped to distribute (and profit) from bottled goods are conventional ag retailers who also sell conventional chemical fertilizers & pesticides.

So the radical organic crowd wants everything they use to be "home brewed" or at least "small company" produced. You aren't supposed to HOME BREW anything that is Patented unless it's for personal use. Selling the stuff would be an illegal Patent violation. This doesn't serve the small dedicated organic-only suppliers.

To make matters much worse is the reluctance of the US Patent Office to permit patents on any vegetable extracts for any purpose. Hence many viable biologicals never see the light of day on store shelves. Both medicine & agri-chemicals suffer greatly from this phenom.

If a plant extract cannot be patented ad extracted, then Bayer/Dow/Syngenta/etc aren't going to waste time researching the efficacy of said extract. Indeed if a really effective botanical extract is discovered then the only research afforded will be to synthesize the molecule. If that works & the process is patentable then we'll eventually see the production of a patented chemical.

It's called self preservation. No sane chemical company is going to spend MILLION$ to get a label if they cannot also get the exclusivity of a 15 year patent.

The very instant an unpatented botanical extract is discovered to work, then "off-patent-generic" chemical manufacturer will be selling the stuff in direct competition with the original purveyor.

The fact that Compost Teas are about to b

8/21/2006 8:38:36 AM

[email protected]

continued

The fact that Compost Teas are about to be banned from use in certain States in true Organic Agriculture is just going to further the divisions between conventional agriculture operators & the new-age organic producers.

Too bad.

8/21/2006 8:40:28 AM

Somers, CT

Unfortunately from some books I have read you are correct. The big fish are controlling the government and will stop at nothing to squash any small organic-based solution that can be fixed using volitile chemicals. This happens with the FDA all the time. The "Natural Cures" book that is all over infomercials describes the process in detail. The big companies spent huge amounts of $$$ protecting their market.

8/21/2006 10:09:35 AM

Montoursville, PA

Steve,

What states are about to ban....what kind of compost teas. Can you supply a link for more imfo on this. This could get interesting because the term compost is not generally well understood and even less defined to a single meaning.

8/21/2006 11:34:18 AM

[email protected]

Dwaine,

Perhaps it isn't a full scale ban. The "days to harvest" interval for CT was recently increased to 120 in some states (or maybe all?).

I was getting ready for vacation & away from computers & email for a full week so it's taking a while to locate.

The Yahoo Compost Tea Group message board is NOT cooperating today (what else is new?). The post was made around the 14th.

I'll email you the daily digest once I find it.

This whole matter is getting sticky. The USDA, EPA & now even the NOSB are caving under pressure to regulate Compost Tea. I would very much like to see a certification process of composts. But restricting the use of CT based on the suspicion of pathogens in tea is really quite silly considering all of the pathogens that already are found in virtually ALL soils.

8/21/2006 4:24:28 PM

[email protected]

Dwaine,

Arkansas seems to be the State that is causing the uproar.

I'll email you that one too.

Steve

8/21/2006 4:54:37 PM

[email protected]

Arkansas isn't banning CT sprays. I was mistaken. Rather Arkansas is making the (proper) move to license applicators which I thibnk is a good move.

Here is a link to the post:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/compost_tea/message/16277

8/21/2006 10:18:25 PM

Roanoke Il

neem oil have been using it for three year and this will be the last every time i've used it at recomended doses i've notice conciderable weight gain loses i don't know if the oil blocks the sun light from leaf surface or what it does keep the plants heathly but takes 3 days or so to regain the speed of what it was gaining before appling.

8/22/2006 8:58:54 AM