Reuters | October 18, 1999 | Bob Burgdorfer
HEARTWELL, Neb. - European opposition to genetically modified grain grown in the United States concerns farmers, but, according to this story, not enough to dampen enthusiasm for what many in one top growing state see as money-saving crops.
Farmers and farm advisers on a recent Nebraska crop tour were cited as saying financial benefits of the crops, especially soybeans, have not changed. Many farmers said they would plant GMO soybeans next year even if grain buyers pay more for non-GMO varieties.
Dean Schwenka, a Heartwell, Nebraska, farmer who estimated his GMO soybeans saved him about $20 an acre in production costs versus conventional varieties, was quoted as saying, "The advantages of the GMO soybeans outweigh the price risk."
The story says that European Union requires GMO grain to be segregated and labeled and consumer groups have demanded it not be used until questions about safety and environmental impact are answered.
The United States, where more than a third of corn and half of soybeans are genetically altered, says those questions have been answered. But EU resistance remains stiff, leading major U.S. grain handlers to pay 10 cents or more per bushel for non-GMO crops to ensure European import demands can be met.
Kim Nill, director of international marketing for the 33,000-member American Soybean Association, was quoted as saying, "We see no reason to expect biotech soybean acreage to decline," said. "It helps lower input costs and produces cleaner beans."
The story notes that farmers get "docked" or discounted by commercial buyers for weeds and other foreign matter in grain they deliver.
The U.S. Agriculture Department was cited as saying this month that 57 percent of this year's 2.7 billion-bushel U.S. soybean crop was grown from GMO varieties, up from 42 percent last year.
About 30 percent of the 9.5 billion-bushel corn crop was derived from insect-resistant (Bt) GMO varieties and 8 percent from herbicide resistant varieties, up slightly from 1998.
Nebraska farmers seem to favor GMO soybeans over corn, which is less disrupted by weeds. Bt corn repels the destructive European corn borer, but farmers said the insect's low population makes it unnecessary to plant each year.
Kevin Swanson, an Overton, Nebraska, farmer who planted 100 percent RoundUp Ready soybeans this year but only 10 percent Bt corn, was quoted as saying, "I could go to zero Bt corn and it wouldn't bother me that much," adding that switching to RoundUp Ready soybeans cut his herbicide costs to about $15 an acre from $30.
But marketing GMO crops remains a headache. Several farmers, including Swanson, planned to sell GMO soybeans now and store non-GMO crops to be sold later.
The story notes that grain elevator Agrex Inc. of Elm Creek, Nebraska, was paying 10 cents per bushel more for non-GM0 corn, which means an additional $7,500 in income for a 500-acre field at this year's average yield. But Agrex was paying the same price for GMO and non-GMO soy.
Nebraska ranks third in U.S. corn production with the 1999 crop estimated at 1.24 billion bushels and fifth in soybeans with an estimated harvest of nearly 185 million bushels.
