Scruggs admits that he saves the seed from Roundup Ready and Bt soybeans and cotton. As far as he's concerned, once he's paid for seed, it's his to do with as he pleases. The majority of farmers involved in these suits argue that their crops are testing positive for the presence of Monsanto's transgenic traits because of widespread and increasing contamination, not because they're saving the seed. Although he acknowledges that genetic contamination of conventional crops is a growing and serious problem, Scruggs is focusing his fight on protecting the right of farmers to save seeds. They contend that the technology will enhance the profitability of farm operations by increasing yields and reducing the application of herbicides.
Critics argue that the technology is failing.
This means that farmers can plant resistant soybeans, for example, in a field of weeds. Roundup will kill the weeds, but not the soybeans. Monsanto also has a line of Bt corn and cotton that features the insecticidal gene of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis to kill tobacco budworm, corn borers, bollworms and other pests. This means that farmers can't legally save and replant them. Instead, they have to repurchase the seed each year at considerable expense.