Reuters | January 13, 2000 | By Randy Fabi
HOUSTON - U.S. farmers plan to cut back sharply their plantings of genetically modified soybeans, corn and cotton this year, partly in response to a European backlash against bioengineered foods, a Reuters straw poll said Thursday.
Reuters surveyed 400 U.S. farmers this week at the annual meeting of the nation's largest farm organization, the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Responses showed farmers were worried that the European Union's resistance to gene-spliced foods might translate into lower prices and demand for their crops. They also said they were concerned about demands by U.S. environmental and consumer groups for special labels on foods made from the crops.
U.S. farmers' decisions whether to plant the crops this spring could be pivotal to the future of the biotech seed industry.
15 PERCENT DROP IN ROUNDUP READY SOYBEANS
Participants in the Reuters poll said they planned reductions of 15 percent in sowings of RoundUp Ready soybeans, 22 percent for RoundUp Ready corn, 24 percent for Bt corn and 26 percent for Bt cotton. The only exception to the overall decline in biotech plantings was a 5 percent increase in planned sowings of RoundUp Ready cotton.
RoundUp Ready varieties, developed by Monsanto Co., have increased tolerance for the RoundUp weedkiller, while Bt varieties produce a natural pesticide that reduces insect damage. Monsanto, Novartis AG, DuPont Co., AstraZeneca Plc and Dow Chemical Co. are among the major makers of gene-spliced seeds.
"The most critical year for biotechnology agriculture will be this year. Unfortunately, farmers are between a rock and a hard place as the market becomes more risky," said Charles Sloan, a soybean farmer from Oklahoma. Sloan planted 800 acres of genetically modified corn in 1999 but said he planned none this year.
During the past three years, American growers eagerly embraced gene-spliced crops as a way to control pest damage, with plantings showing an exponential increase each year.
In 1999, U.S. farmers planted genetically modified seeds on more than half of the soybean and cotton acreage, and one-third of the corn crop, according to U.S. Agriculture Department figures.
SEGREGATION, COST AMONG FARMER CONCERNS
Farmers surveyed cited several factors for reconsidering whether to plant GM crops, including:
+ consumers worried about safety.
+ European and Asian buyers offering higher premiums for non-GM crops.
+ international buyers requiring the costly and time-consuming segregation of GM and non-GM commodities.
+ biotech seeds priced too high for an increasingly volatile market.
+ relatively light insect damage to U.S. fields last year.
Monsanto, a pioneer in developing biotech seeds, said it was premature to conclude plantings will decline. Market research indicates "seed sales will be consistent with 1999," said spokesman Dan Verakis.
Most farmers do not buy their seed until closer to spring planting time, he added.
Farmers interviewed by Reuters for the straw poll were randomly selected at the American Farm Bureau convention, which tends to attract relatively large and sophisticated growers.
The Reuters straw poll did not attempt to weight responses by state, size of farm, or other criteria. The 400 farmers surveyed for the poll grow crops on a total of 438,614 acres.
Copyright 2000 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved.
