A Canadian federal judge ruled on March 29 that a Saskatchewan farmer had infringed Monsanto's patent on glyphosate-resistant varieties of canola. The farmer claimed that he did not sow glyphosate-resistant varieties, and that any such plants in his fields were the result of pollen drift from nearby fields, or from seed blown off passing grain trucks during harvest. However, the judge cited testimony from the farmer and his hired hand that the farmer had applied Roundup herbicide to 3 to 4 acres of his 1997 canola crop, and found that about 60% of the plants continued to grow. At harvest the farmer segregated the seeds from the sprayed plants, saved the seed, had the seed cleaned and used it as the primary source of seed for his 1000 acre canola crop in 1998. The company that cleaned the seeds for the farmer saved samples of the seed before and after cleaning, as the company does for all batches of seed it cleans. When the samples were tested by staff at the University of Manitoba, 95% of the seeds were glyphosate-resistant. The judge found that such a high percentage was inconsistent with pollen drift, and in any event, the farmer infringed by knowingly using seed that the farmer knew to have the patented gene in light of the fact that the farmer had sprayed and saved the seed. The judge levied an initial fine of $9,600 against the farmer.