The U.S. Supreme Court said on Jan. 15 it would hear an appeal by Monsanto of a ruling that barred the company from selling its genetically modified alfalfa seed, until an environmental review is done.

The justices agreed to review a ruling by a U.S. appeals court in California that upheld a federal judge’s injunction barring the sales until the federal government finished an environmental impact study on how the Roundup Ready seed could affect nearby crops.

Environmental groups and conventional seed companies, led by Geertson Seed Farms, sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture in February 2006 to force it to rescind its 2005 approval of the Monsanto seed until it did a full environmental study.

Monsanto intervened on the government’s side in the suit.

Monsanto was supported in its appeal to the Supreme Court by a number of groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the American Seed Trade Association and the National Corn Growers Association.