• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Study Says Farmers Benefiting From Higher Yields, Lower Costs

Posted on: Wednesday, 7 December 2005, 00:00 CST

By Rachel Melcer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Dec. 7--As the number of commercially available, genetically modified crops grows, so do the benefits reaped by American farmers, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy.

With each new product introduction, the total acreage of genetically modified, or GM, crops planted in the United States increases, said the study's author, Sujatha Sankula. Competition does not appear to be stealing market share from Creve Coeur-based Monsanto Co., the world's leading provider of biotech seeds and traits; instead, the overall market is expanding, she said.

"It's not a substitution" of one product for another, Sankula said. Biotech crops "will be planted on more acreage than before, and therefore there will be more benefits to growers."

Some critics say the ultimate effects of GM crops on human health and the environment are unknown and suspect, but 10 years of use and study have shown no significant harms. Farmers quickly adopted the technology that allows them to cut down on the use of pesticides and herbicides, boost yield and reduce costs.

In 2004, biotech crops were planted on 118 million U.S. acres, an increase of 11 percent over the previous year, the study found. Growers using these varieties, as opposed to conventional crops, realized an additional $2.3 billion in income last year -- largely due to an increase in yield of 6.6 billion pounds and a reduction in pesticide use of 62 million pounds, the study said.

It looked at the use of several GM varieties: herbicide-resistant canola, corn, soybeans and cotton; insect-resistant corn and cotton; and virus-resistant papaya and squash.

Each of the benefits -- rising farm income, lower production costs and less pesticide use -- swelled over the previous year because of the increased acreage, Sankula said.

Donna Winters, a third-generation farmer from Lake Providence, La., is supporting the study by sharing her experience with the media. Her 3,000-acre farm includes about 1,000 acres of soybeans plus 600 acres each of cotton and canola -- all genetically modified. She planted the first available biotech crop, Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybeans, a decade ago.

"I just know the benefits of it. I know what I've seen on our farm, (including) positive benefits to the environment," she said.

Using biotech crops allows growers to plant without tilling the soil, which reduces costs, soil erosion and dust. That practice, along with the reduced use of pesticides, has made Winters' farm more welcoming to wildlife, she said. Species such as wild turkeys, red fox and quail have returned to the area in recent years.

But her true motivation for using GM crops is economic. She estimates a savings of $19 an acre, plus improved yield, in using Roundup Ready soybeans over conventional varieties.

"Growers are really savvy businessmen," Sankula said. "If they try something and it doesn't work for them, they won't try it again the next year."

Her study shows that demand has increased, year over year, since the initial NCFAP survey in 2001. As new traits are introduced to the market, they quickly are adopted.

In 2004, there was an increase in the use of LibertyLink crops, produced by Des Moines, Iowa-based Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., a DuPont subsidiary. LibertyLink cotton, canola and corn can resist applications of glufosinate-ammonium herbicide, which Pioneer sells as Liberty.

These products compete with Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops, which can stand up to Monsanto's Roundup glyphosate weed-killer.

Growers apply less Liberty per acre than Roundup -- typically 0.45 pounds per acre versus 1 pound per acre of active ingredient, respectively, Sankula said. So, that added to the overall benefit of reduced pesticide use.

But that doesn't mean fewer Roundup Ready crops were planted. On the contrary, their use also grew in 2004 over the previous year, Sankula said.

There was a similar uptick in the use of Herculex biotech crops -- jointly developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred and Dow AgroSciences LLC of Indianapolis -- without a reduction in use of competing Monsanto products, she said.

Sankula expects the trend to continue as new traits are introduced to the market. Roundup Ready Flex cotton and Herculex RW Rootworm Protection corn both will be planted for the first time next spring.

Some critics question the study, because NCFAP receives a portion of its operating funds from corporations that include Monsanto.

But Sankula defended the results, noting that acreage and yield data were drawn from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. She surveyed researchers and extension crop specialists at land-grant universities to determine how the crops and pesticides are used by farmers.

The report also was reviewed by 29 agricultural, pest-management and plant biotechnology experts from 21 academic and government institutions, she said.

However, a study released last year by the Union of Concerned Scientists, which also used agriculture department statistics, produced different results.

It found that farmers were applying large amounts of glyphosate herbicide on Roundup Ready corn, soybeans and cotton in order to deal with glyphosate-resistant weeds. That increase in herbicide use was offset partially by a drop in insecticides applied to insect-resistant GM crops, resulting in an overall 4.1 percent increase in these chemicals used on biotech acres since 1996.

Sankula said the Union of Concerned Scientists' study takes pesticide application data from the agriculture department, without considering that those numbers include sprays used in land preparation rather than on crops; her report discounts that usage.

Sankula sees the final proof in the increasing adoption of this technology by farmers. "Growers have planted them all these years because they see the benefits," she said.

-----

To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stltoday.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

MON, PHB, DOW,

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

More News in this Category