The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) granted on Friday a commercial use exemption to Herculex RW, a rootworm event developed and sold by Pioneer Hi-Bred International and Dow AgroSciences. [...] Both products had received federal approval. ”Once the USDA has given approval to a product, in this case the specific traits, the MDA wants to review the USDA documentation along with the EPA documentation,” says Margaret Hart, MDA communications coordinator. ”It’s an extra step the state of Minnesota takes to examine any perceived threats to the environment or human health.”