text: The USDA finished its draft EIS for alfalfa in 2009 and, by December 2010, it had jumped through the hoops necessary to re-approve the crop. But in spite of the conclusion of the environmental review that the genetically engineered alfalfa was substantially equivalent to other varieties and posed no problems for regulators, farmers, or consumers, Secretary Vilsack proposed reapproving the product only on the condition that it not be planted within five miles of non-genetically engineered seed crops, solely to help make production a little easier for organic farmers. That restriction would have made an estimated 20 percent of the nation's alfalfa production, and nearly half in western states such as California and Oregon that are significant alfalfa producers, off-limits to the Roundup Ready variety.