The Chicago Sun-Times | December 13, 1999 | GRETCHEN RANDALL, SPECIAL TO THE SUN-TIMES
Illinois farmers face, according to this story, tough costly Next spring, they'll be wondering: Which types of corn and soybeans do I plant, and will I be able to sell them at harvest time? At issue are genetically modified seeds that have been altered to be impervious to herbicides and in some cases insects, such as the corn borer.
Dennis Vercler, communications director of the Illinois Farm Bureau, was quoted as saying, "There's a lot of anxiety, confusion and consternation out there. A lot of farmers are hedging their bets and double-booking seed orders. The proof will be in the fall of 2000, when crops go to market."
Darl Baumgardner, a corn and soybean grower near Downstate Normal was quoted as saying, "Planting [genetically altered] seed is a win/win situation for the farmer and the environment, but I have to take a second look. I don't know yet what to plant. It depends on what happens in the next 60 to 90 days."
Farmers and processors argue that segregation requires extensive testing and equipment, plus extra time to clean out wagons, storage bins and trucks after each delivery. No one has accurately determined the cost of separating crops, but one retailer in Britain is charging 20 percent more for beef it says is fed only non-altered feed. Another issue affecting the separation of the two types of seeds is that scientists have not yet determined what distance pollen from altered-seed cornstalks can travel.
Neil Harl, a professor in agriculture and economics at Iowa State University, advises farmers to "be very careful about what they sign or even what oral comments are made" concerning the crops.
