Soy is Good

Been hankering to rid your land of nasty invasive plants, but worried about losing your nice layer of topsoil to erosion after the weeds are gone? Well, why not help yourself to a nice crop of GMO soybeans (Glycine max)? In what may be the most interesting application of GMO plants so far, the Nature Conservancy is letting farmers plant crops of Roundup-resistant soybeans on prairieland in Minnesota that is infested with invasive plants. When the crop is harvested, the weeds are gone, and what's left of the soybeans can be plowed under. The site is then reseeded with native prairie grasses. Boulder, Colorado is considering the same project for their own parks, according to this article from The Daily Camera. This is especially interesting given the number of states and countries that have rejected growing the soybeans for agricultural purposes. Soybean is considered to be an invasive species itself in some parts of North America.

Thanks to blahstuff for linking to the Daily Camera article.