Farmers to boost plantings of gene-altered crops, USDA says
PHILIP BRASHER / AP 30mar01
WASHINGTON -- Farmers will sharply boost their plantings of genetically engineered soybeans this year, despite opposition to biotechnology overseas and signs of unease among U.S. consumers, the government said Friday.
About 63 percent of this year's soybean crop, or about 48 million acres, is expected to be genetically engineered, up from 54 percent in 2000, according to the Agriculture Department's annual survey of farmers' planting intentions. The biotech soy is immune to the Monsanto Co.'s popular Roundup weedkiller.
``Clearly farmers like using Roundup-ready soybeans,'' said Bill Nelson, a commodity analyst with A.G. Edwards & Sons. There could be shortages of the seed this spring, he added.
Slightly under 10 million acres of the cotton that farmers will plant this spring, or 64 percent, is expected to be biotech, compared to 61 percent in 2000, USDA said. Biotech cotton is either resistant to insect pests or herbicides, or both.
``The reports of our death are erroneous,'' said Lisa Dry, a spokeswoman for the Biotechnology Industry Organization. ``It just shows that farmers see the tremendous benefits of this technology.''
About 24 percent of the 2001 corn crop will be genetically engineered, compared to 25 percent last year, USDA said.
The biotech industry was embarrassed last year when a gene-altered variety of corn, known as StarLink, was found in the food supply without being cleared for human consumption.
StarLink, one of the least used of the various biotech corn varieties, has been withdrawn from the market. But farmers are concerned that stray seeds from last year's StarLink crop may sprout in their fields and have been encouraged to plant biotech soybeans on that acreage. Any wild StarLink plants will die when the genetically modified soybeans is treated with herbicide.
Although there is strong resistance to biotech food in Europe and Japan, most U.S.-grown corn and soybeans are consumed domestically.
Yield-robbing weeds have long been a problem for soybean growers, so development of the biotech varieties has made it much easier to grow the crop.
The USDA report also confirmed that farmers are cutting back on overall corn acreage this year largely because of higher energy and fertilizer prices and switching to soybeans.
Farmers are expected to grow about 76.7 million acres of both crops this year. That would represent a decrease of 4 percent in corn plantings from last year and a 3 percent increase for soybeans.
In Iowa, which ranks No. 1 in both corn and soybeans, farmers will plant an estimated 11.9 million acres of corn this year, down from 12.3 million in 2000. They are increasing their soybean acreage from 10.7 million to 11 million.
This year's wheat acreage is estimated at 60.3 million, a 4 percent reduction from 2000 and the lowest level since 1973. Production of spring-planted varieties, however, is expected to increase, with acreage of 15.5 million, up 2 percent from 2000. Most wheat is planted in the fall.
This year's cotton acreage is estimated at 15.6 million, an increase of less than 1 percent from 2000.
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