![](\"http:\/\/www.acresusa.com\/events\/10conf\/graphics\/huber.jpg\")
<\/a>\nJill Richardson\n<\/a>\nJill Richardson\n\npublishes a letter<\/a>\nfrom Col. (Ret.) Don M. Huber,\nEmeritus Professor, Purdue University,\nwho is\nAPS Coordinator, USDA National Plant Disease Recovery System (NPDRS).\nIt begins:\n\nDear Secretary Vilsack:\n
\nA team of senior plant and animal scientists have recently brought to\nmy attention the discovery of an electron microscopic pathogen that\nappears to significantly impact the health of plants, animals, and\nprobably human beings. Based on a review of the data, it is widespread,\nvery serious, and is in much higher concentrations in Roundup Ready (RR)\nsoybeans and corn-suggesting a link with the RR gene or more likely the\npresence of Roundup. This organism appears NEW to science!\n<\/blockquote>\nWhat’s an “electron microsope pathogen”?\n\n\n\nUnique Physical Properties\n\nThis previously unknown organism is only visible under an electron\nmicroscope (36,000X), with an approximate size range equal to\na medium size virus. It is able to reproduce and appears to be a\nmicro-fungal-like organism. If so, it would be the first such micro-fungus\never identified. There is strong evidence that this infectious agent\npromotes diseases of both plants and mammals, which is very rare.\n
\nPathogen Location and Concentration\n
\nIt is found in high concentrations in Roundup Ready soybean meal and\ncorn, distillers meal, fermentation feed products, pig stomach contents,\nand pig and cattle placentas.\n
\nLinked with Outbreaks of Plant Disease\n
\nThe organism is prolific in plants infected with two pervasive diseases\nthat are driving down yields and farmer income-sudden death syndrome\n(SDS) in soy, and Goss’ wilt in corn. The pathogen is also found in the\nfungal causative agent of SDS (Fusarium solani fsp glycines).\n
\nImplicated in Animal Reproductive Failure\n
\nLaboratory tests have confirmed the presence of this organism in a wide\nvariety of livestock that have experienced spontaneous abortions and\ninfertility. Preliminary results from ongoing research have also been\nable to reproduce abortions in a clinical setting.\n
\nThe pathogen may explain the escalating frequency of infertility and\nspontaneous abortions over the past few years in US cattle, dairy, swine,\nand horse operations. These include recent reports of infertility rates\nin dairy heifers of over 20%, and spontaneous abortions in cattle as\nhigh as 45%.\n
\nFor example, 450 of 1,000 pregnant heifers fed wheatlege experienced\nspontaneous abortions. Over the same period, another 1,000 heifers\nfrom the same herd that were raised on hay had no abortions. High\nconcentrations of the pathogen were confirmed on the wheatlege, which\nlikely had been under weed management using glyphosate.\n<\/blockquote>\nWell, I’m sure that couldn’t affect humans, though, right?\nWell, of course if you ignore\n\nthe research that’s been done in Argentina and France….<\/a>\n
\nCol. Huber sent this letter before<\/em> USDA approved Roundup-ready\nalfalfa.\nDr. Huber is not a newbie. As he says in his letter:\n
\nI have studied plant pathogens for more than 50 years. We are now seeing\nan unprecedented trend of increasing plant and animal diseases and\ndisorders. This pathogen may be instrumental to understanding and solving\nthis problem. It deserves immediate attention with significant resources\nto avoid a general collapse of our critical agricultural infrastructure.\n<\/blockquote>\nAccording to\n\nhis bio at the 2010 Acres conference:<\/a>\n\nDr. Don Huber is professor emeritus of plant pathology at Purdue\nUniversity. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of\nIdaho, a Ph.D. from Michigan State University, and is a graduate of the\nU.S. Army Command & General Staff College and Industrial College of the\nArmed Forces.\n\nHe was cereal pathologist at the University of Idaho for 8 years\nbefore joining the Department of Botany & Plant Pathology at Purdue\nUniversity in 1971. His agricultural research the past 50 years\nhas focused on the epidemiology and control of soilborne plant\npathogens with emphasis on microbial ecology, cultural and biological\ncontrols, and physiology of host-parasite relationships. Research also\nincludes nitrogen metabolism, micronutrient physiology, inhibition\nof nitrification, and nutrient-disease interactions. In addition\nto his academic positions and research, he is internationally\nrecognized for his expertise in the development of nitrification\ninhibitors to improve the efficiency of N fertilizers, interactions\nof the form of nitrogen, manganese and other nutrients in disease,\nherbicide-nutrient-disease interactions, techniques for rapid\nmicrobial identification, and cultural control of plant diseases.\n<\/blockquote>\n\nRobyn Griggs Lawrence<\/a>\npoints out that Dr. Huber\n
\ncoordinates the Emergent Diseases and Pathogens committee of the American\nPhytopathological Society.\n<\/blockquote>\nThis is somebody who should know what he’s talking about, and his letter\ncalls for many other researchers to investigate what he thinks he’s found.\nToo bad Sec. Vilsack didn’t listen.\nMaybe too bad for all of us.\n\n-jsq\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jill Richardson publishes a letter from Col. (Ret.) Don M. Huber, Emeritus Professor, Purdue University, who is APS Coordinator, USDA National Plant Disease Recovery System (NPDRS). It begins: Dear Secretary Vilsack: A team of senior plant and animal scientists have recently brought to my attention the discovery of an electron microscopic pathogen that appears to […]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,8,260,42,174,44,71,373,60],"tags":[998,2761,1000,999,93,2816,991,617,992,2763,997,15,994,995,996,179,1001,570,1002,167,993],"class_list":["post-327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agriculture","category-agrochemicals","category-cows","category-food-and-drink","category-glyphosate","category-health","category-mammals","category-no-till","category-plants","tag-abortions","tag-agriculture","tag-alfalfa","tag-animal","tag-corn-2","tag-cows","tag-don-m-huber","tag-feed","tag-fungus","tag-glysophate","tag-mamals","tag-monsanto","tag-national-plant-disease-recovery-system","tag-npdrs","tag-pathogen","tag-roundup","tag-sds","tag-soybean","tag-sudden-death-syndrome","tag-usda","tag-virus"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Gj0O-5h","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}