"A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Maui County ban on the cultivation of genetically engineered crops is pre-empted by federal and state law and invalid.

The county's ordinance creating the prohibition exceeded the county's authority, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway said in her ruling.

The county, which is a major center for research on genetically engineered crops, will abide by the decision, spokesman Rod Antone said. Monsanto Co. and Dow Chemical Co. unit Agrigenetics Inc. both have research farms in the county."

Audrey McAvoy reports for the Associated Press June 30, 2015. [2]