More than 1 million acres of sugar beets are cultivated annually in the United States, with a market value at harvest exceeding $1 billion.
[5][9] In August 2010, commercial planting of GM sugar beets was suspended following a lawsuit and US district court revocation of their approval.
As a result of this ruling, growers were permitted to harvest and process their crop at the end of the 2010 growing season, yet a ban on new plantings was enacted.
[12][14] After Judge White's ruling, USDA-APHIS prepared an environmental assessment seeking partial deregulation of glyphosate-resistant sugar beets.
The second option was to allow growers to plant glyphosate-resistant sugar beets if they obtained a USDA-APHIS permit and followed specific mandates.
Under the third and final option, glyphosate-resistant sugar beets would be partially deregulated, but monitored by Monsanto and KWS SSAT AG.
[12][15] In November 2010, in response to a suit by the original parties, Judge White ordered the destruction of plantings of genetically modified sugar beets developed by Monsanto after ruling previously that the USDA had illegally approved the biotech crop.
[16] In February 2011, a federal appeals court for the Northern district of California in San Francisco overturned the ruling, concluding, "The Plaintiffs have failed to show a likelihood of irreparable injury.
"[4] On February 4, 2011, the USDA-APHIS announced glyphosate-resistant sugar beets had been partially deregulated and growers would be allowed to plant seed from spring 2011 until an EIS is completed.
[10] In 2011, some growers of chard seed in Oregon raised concerns about the possibility of cross-pollination with GM sugar beets via windblown pollen.