Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the rapid increase in the adoption of GE corn, soybean, and cotton varieties by
U.S. farmers, questions remain regarding the impact of agricultural biotech-
nology. These issues range from the economic and environmental impacts to
consumer acceptance.
What Did the Study Find?
This study examined the three major stakeholders in agricultural biotech-
nology:
seed suppliers and technology providers, farmers, and consumers.
Seed suppliers/technology providers.
Strengthening of intellectual prop-
erty rights protection in the 1970s and 1980s increased returns to research and
offered greater incentives for private companies to invest in seed development
and crop biotechnology. Since 1987, seed producers have submitted nearly
11,600 applications to USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
for field testing of GE varieties. More than 10,700 (92 percent) have been
approved. Approvals peaked in 2002 with 1,190. Most approved applications
involved major crops, with nearly 5,000 for corn alone, followed by soybeans,
potatoes, and cotton. More than 6,600 of the approved applications included
GE varieties with herbicide tolerance or insect resistance. Significant numbers
of applications were approved for varieties with improved product quality,
viral resistance, and enhanced agronomic properties such as drought and
fungal resistance.
Farmers.
Adoption of GE soybeans, corn, and cotton by U.S. farmers has
increased most years since these varieties became commercially available in
1996. By 2005, herbicide-tolerant soybeans accounted for 87 percent of total
U.S. soybean acreage, while herbicide-tolerant cotton accounted for about 60
percent of total cotton acreage. Adoption of insect-resistant crops is
concentrated in areas with high levels of pest infestation and varies across
States. Insect-resistant cotton was planted on 52 percent of cotton acreage in
2005—ranging from 13 percent in California to 85 percent in Louisiana.
Insect-resistant corn accounted for 35 percent of the total acreage in 2005,
following the introduction of a new variety to control the corn rootworm.
The economic impact of GE crops on producers varies by crop and tech-
nology. Herbicide-tolerant cotton and corn were associated with increased
returns, as were insect-resistant cotton and corn when pest infestations were
more prevalent. Despite the rapid adoption of herbicide-tolerant soybeans,
there was little impact on net farm returns in 1997 and 1998. However, the
