Farm Journal | November 1999 | Greg D. Horstmeier
Ordering seed is, according to this story, tough enough, what with the sheer number of selections, seed giveaways, discount programs and new theories on seed sizing. Suddenly all that has been compounded by uncertainty over the status and market value of grain from genetically modified (GM) seeds.
Globally, a growing number of buyers of grain and grain products are asking for non-GM. Many country elevators are segregating grains produced from seed with traits such as Bt, Liberty Link (LL) and Roundup Ready (RR). As seed ordering time hits, farmers and the seed companies find themselves in a kind of suspended animation, not knowing what to buy for the 2000 corn and soybean season.
Joe Horan, of Manson, Iowa was quoted as saying, "We usually have 99% of our seed tentatively ordered by end of harvest."
The story says that Horan and brother Bill have planted at least some Bt corn for three seasons. For the past two years they've planted 100% of their soybeans to Roundup Ready, including seed production fields, in the soybean portion of their farming operation.
Horan was further quoted as saying, "This year, we're going to wait and see. I hope to have seed orders placed by the end of the year, but I'm not sure we'll make that."
Those seed decisions will hinge on postharvest grain sales and how much actual impact the GM issue has in domestic and world markets, he says.
Ted Givens, research director for NC+ Hybrids was quoted as saying, "Farmers don't have a clear view on what consumers want in terms of segregation and labeling. If farmers don't know what to plant, the seed industry doesn't know what to provide. It could be chaotic for the next season or two."
For the most part, the 2000 seed supply table is set.
Seed companies do have last-minute access to winter production fields in the Southern Hemisphere, yet 80% to 90% of most seed supplies are grown in the U.S. In 1999, a lot of U.S. seed fields were planted to GM seeds long before current concerns surfaced.
Givens was cited as saying he isn't losing sleep yet, adding that of the 71 hybrids in the 2000 NC+ catalog, only about a dozen will have some GM trait.
Kyle Whitaker, product and technology communications manager for corn at Pioneer Hi-Bred International was cited as saying Pioneer has 47 GM hybrids out of a portfolio of 240, adding "We're confident we'll be able to supply a grower with GM or conventional hybrids, no matter which he chooses. We don't expect a major shift away from GM corn. If there would be such a shift, it's possible not every farmer will get all the quantity of every hybrid he wants at the seed sizes he wants. But then, that's not much different from any other season."
The story says that whether enough of those conventional hybrids are top-yielding "elite" seed is another question. For many companies, "new and improved" often means "GM."
One newest, should-be-hot product is a 111- to 113-day Roundup Ready hybrid available from a half-dozen companies this fall. The hybrid has shown high yields in past experimental trials, yet it appears that the genetics will only be available in hybrids with the Roundup Ready gene.
Monsanto Company will launch 25 new DeKalb hybrids and 12 new Asgrow hybrids in 2000. Of those, 12 DeKalb numbers carry a GM trait. Four of the Asgrow hybrids are new-for-2000 genetics that also have a GM trait; eight others are GM versions of existing hybrids, with many of those hybrids also available in non-GM form.
Kevin Coey, an independent seed agronomist who specializes in testing and evaluating hybrids was quoted as saying, "There are good non-GM hybrids out there, but there certainly will be fewer of them in the future given the efforts many companies are investing in creating top-yielding GM seeds."
