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Some canola growers in Western Australia using genetically modified seeds say they are experiencing significant losses that could cost them millions of dollars. The WA Farmers Federation is surveying affected growers, and the farmers are considering their legal options.

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00:02South of Weijin in the state's Great Southern, canola harvesting is underway.
00:08After a dry year with expensive fuel and fertilizer shortages, hopes are high for growers to recover their costs.
00:16But while this crop of canola is looking good, other genetically modified canola varieties are failing.
00:23This is a story about the ability of the crop to tolerate the chemical which it's designed to do,
00:29and which it says on the label that it should do.
00:31The implanted gene TruFlex helps the canola survive weed control chemicals like glyphosate, commonly known as Roundup.
00:40I've never seen a canola crop like this before. Totally decimated.
00:45Affected farmers believe some varieties with the TruFlex gene have lost that tolerance.
00:51While others have survived the herbicide spray just over the fence, the TruFlex GM crop has failed.
00:58Everything else about the growing of these two crops side by side is more or less the same.
01:02The same nutrition, the same history, the same soil type, the same rainfall.
01:07Dozens of growers across the grain belt have reported similar problems,
01:11which some say could result in them losing up to 70% of the crop, costing them millions.
01:19I think we could be losing in the order of $1,000 a hectare.
01:22Now more than 40 growers have asked lawyers to look at legal options.
01:26So we, in collaboration with WA Farmers, are going to be collecting as much information as we can from those
01:32growers that are affected.
01:33Put all that together and then seek a formal opinion from a barrister.
01:37The TruFlex gene developer, Bayer, says it's aware of reports regarding canola performance in WA
01:44and is gathering the relevant facts to better understand the situation.
01:49But we will be doing a lot of talking about where Picasso is in the direction.
01:50So if they are finding their own newspaper to embed them out on top of the cleaning list,
01:52and we are now talking about spraying of the plant and cleaning machine.
01:52But with that later, if they are using a mille and the main veins in the area,
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