Washington, D.C. — In a victory for the biotech industry, the Obama administration has decided against restricting where a new genetically engineered variety of alfalfa can be grown.

Biotech companies, including Monsanto Co., the crop's developer, and Pioneer Hi-Bred of Johnston, feared the planting limits on alfalfa would restrict future biotech crops as well. The Agriculture Department, which regulates genetically engineered plants, has never put growing restrictions on a crop that was deemed to be safe for humans and the environment.

The decision announced Thursday by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was a blow to the organic industry, which was seeking to protect its feed crops from cross-pollinating with the biotech alfalfa.

Farmers can't sell meat or dairy products as organic unless the animals were given organic feed, and those producers fear hay will be harder to obtain if there is widespread contamination from biotech crops.

But Vilsack angered the biotech industry and farm groups last month when he said his department was considering putting limits on where the genetically engineered crop could be grown to ensure that it didn't cross-pollinate with organic or other non-biotech crops.

He said Thursday that he still believed the Agriculture Department had the legal means to do that, but a fact sheet released by the USDA said that restricting the alfalfa "would not be consistent" with its "regulatory authorities," which revolve around whether a crop poses a plant pest risk.

Vilsack instead said the USDA would be undertaking research and other measures to try to ensure that there would be adequate supplies of nonbiotech seed after the genetically engineered alfalfa is in commercial use.

The research will include studying the spread of the biotech gene and developing a way to protect nonbiotech alfalfa against cross-pollination from the genetically engineered version.

The biotech industry said planting restrictions could slow the development of genetically modified products, and there were worries in Congress that the rules could undermine U.S. efforts to convince other countries of the safety of biotech food.

Vilsack's decision likely won't end the litigation that has kept the alfalfa variety tied up in court for years. The advocacy group that successfully sued to halt commercialization of the crop, forcing the USDA to study the crop more fully, said it would go back to court to challenge Vilsack's latest action.

"There's only one interpretation for all of this, which is massive pressure from the industry on the administration," said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety.

Vilsack said there was no question about the safety of the alfalfa, which was engineered by Monsanto to be immune to Roundup herbicide. But he said it was important to ensure that farmers growing organic and other types of nonbiotech, or nongenetically engineered, alfalfa could stay in business.

The measures to protect supplies of seed that isn't genetically engineered "should reassure folks that there will be seed to preserve choice so that non-GE alfalfa can be grown by those who wish to do it," Vilsack said.

In addition to restrictions on where the genetically modified alfalfa could be grown, the organic industry was seeking a compensation plan for organic farmers whose crops might be contaminated with biotech alfalfa pollen. The USDA research won't help organic farmers deal with the immediate threat posed by the biotech crop, said Christine Bushway, executive director of the Organic Trade Association.

Vilsack said he expects to make decisions soon on two other biotech crops, Roundup-tolerant sugar beets and a corn variety designed for use in fuel ethanol.