The first field trials of this soybean were conducted in 1989-90. The transgenic plant showed tolerance, but it was only after 1991 that it demonstrated commercially useful levels coupled with no loss of yield. The transgenic soybean is now also being grown in Canada and Argentina. A 1998 report on the Roundup Ready soybeans system showed that it provided better weed control and reduced crop injury compared to regular soybean herbicides. Roundup Ready patented genes have subsequently been inserted into a range of other crops, including corn, canola, oilseed rape, sugarbeet and cotton.
Field trials are in progress around the world.
Concern was raised by some community groups in Australia when Monsanto applied to government to have the allowable level of residues of Roundup raised in our food at around the same time that its soybeans arrived here as imports. Some view Roundup as a comparatively benign herbicide which does not persist in the soil, has low toxicity, is non-volatile and can even benefit soil fertility. Some critics stress that it is non-selective, has been found to be lethal to a wide range of plants and harmful to some aquatic life, and can adversely affect soil fertility. In order to protect patent rights for its new technology, Monsanto introduced a system of contracts with farmers called gene technology user agreements. The agreement for Roundup Ready soybean seed stipulated how farmers could use the seed, what inputs they could use, and what access the company must have to their farms.