Farmers leaving GMO for economic reasons

Fusion_power · February 6, 2014

http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/02/0...will-surprise/

Interesting read. GMO corn is now less effective because the pests and weeds have adapted. Combined with the high price of GMO seed, this tilts the pendulum in favor of traditional non-gmo seed. Note that the non-gmo seed is still hybrid seed, not open pollinated. There are some glitches in this article around the use of herbicides. What it does not say but has to mean is that they are using pre-plant herbicides as in non-roundup herbicides to control weeds. This also means heavier reliance on neonicotinoid pesticides which is a huge negative for beekeepers.

If you read through the industry news, Monsanto has a case of blue funk about the situation and is attempting to integrate even more disease, pest, and herbicide tolerant genes into their products. They see the writing on this wall.

Here is another article about chinese theft of seed technology.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/us...e-efforts.html

Worth1 · February 6, 2014

That's over $88.000 per 1000 acres to grow GMO corn.

Do these people think farmers cant add.
Worth

Labradors2 · February 6, 2014

That IS good news!!!

I wondered why the makers of Cheerios announced that they were going to be switching to non-GMO corn. As usual, it's a case of "follow the money!"

Linda

Cole_Robbie · February 6, 2014

Thank you for the articles.

I don't understand why it is a national security issue that the Chinese are stealing corn sprouts from a field. They're just going to sell the same seeds back to US farmers for less money.

"What ensued was about a year of F.B.I. surveillance of Mr. Mo and his associates"

That doesn't sound cheap. They probably spent a million bucks of tax payer money, and they might not even get a serious conviction. I think the seed companies should be responsible for protecting their own product, not the FBI.

NathanP · February 6, 2014

Quote:

Monsanto has a case of blue funk about the situation and is attempting to integrate even more disease, pest, and herbicide tolerant genes into their products. They see the writing on this wall.

I think they only see the writing on the wall with GMO plants with only one insertion. That is why they are next turning to multiple GMO insertions for a multiple gene solution. More and more risky with potential health related issues with more factors involved, but it may provide them a short term solution until those also create more superpests and superweeds. I don't think they will give it up until public pressure forces their hand.

Hermitian · February 6, 2014

The trend is crop-specific. Sales of GMO cotton and alfalfa are at all-time highs.

RJGlew · February 6, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labradors2

That IS good news!!!

I wondered why the makers of Cheerios announced that they were going to be switching to non-GMO corn. As usual, it's a case of "follow the money!"

Linda

Cheerios are made from oat flour.

RJGlew · February 6, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJGlew

Cheerios are made from oat flour.

Gotta love it...

Earlier this month, General Mills announced that original Cheerios are now made without genetically modified ingredients. The package will boast the change, but even the cereal maker admitted that the Cheerios' main ingredient, oats, have never been a genetically modified crop.

habitat_gardener · February 6, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJGlew

...Cheerios' main ingredient, oats, have never been a genetically modified crop.

THis reminds me of all the "no cholesterol" tags that started showing up on plant foods some time ago. They never had cholesterol to begin with!

Labradors2 · February 6, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJGlew

Cheerios are made from oat flour.

Oops! Should have researched that before posting.

From the horse's mouth:

"Did we change Cheerios? No. Not really," Forsythe explained in the General Mills blog. "Original Cheerios has always been made with whole grain oats, and there are no GMO oats. We do use a small amount of corn starch in cooking, and just one gram of sugar per serving for taste. And now that corn starch comes only from non-GM corn, and our sugar is only non-GM pure cane sugar."

Linda

Douglas_OW · February 6, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by habitat_gardener

THis reminds me of all the "no cholesterol" tags that started showing up on plant foods some time ago. They never had cholesterol to begin with!

I think that the Cheerios case is a little different. Its true that the oats never were a GMO crop, but there are other ingredients that were not sourced specifically as non GMO products. If you have a preference to avoid GMO products, you can now at least have some basis to choose. Before this you could only assume that this product MAY contain some GMO materials. Its like buying a bag of walnuts that is labeled "Processed in a facility that also processes peanuts and other nuts".
Here's another article about the availability of non GMO products:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/201...in-a-gmo-world

Its a good read.

Jim

drew51 · February 7, 2014

Monsanto is going organic:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...to-vegetables/

Barbee · February 7, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/02/0...will-surprise/

Interesting read. GMO corn is now less effective because the pests and weeds have adapted. Combined with the high price of GMO seed, this tilts the pendulum in favor of traditional non-gmo seed. Note that the non-gmo seed is still hybrid seed, not open pollinated. There are some glitches in this article around the use of herbicides. What it does not say but has to mean is that they are using pre-plant herbicides as in non-roundup herbicides to control weeds. This also means heavier reliance on neonicotinoid pesticides which is a huge negative for beekeepers.

If you read through the industry news, Monsanto has a case of blue funk about the situation and is attempting to integrate even more disease, pest, and herbicide tolerant genes into their products. They see the writing on this wall.

Here is another article about chinese theft of seed technology.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/us...e-efforts.html

This article is misleading and here's why. Keep in mind this is only my opinion and is not an opinion of farmers world wide.

"We" dont really need traited technology for weed control on corn. We do use a broadleaf herbicide and another product prior to planting to burn down weeds but we do not spray Round Up during the season for weed control. Weed control is not really necessary for us for raising corn.

Pests are the big issue with corn. The problem with the GMO corn seed in the midwest is that it is not effective on the Western Corn Root Worm which is a devasting pest. Other types of treatments work better for that particular pest. If you are going to be treating for that pest anyway, and you don't need the weed control, what is the point of paying the premium for traited GMO seed corn? You could buy cheaper corn seed and spray for all pests including the root worm while you are making a trip across the field plus you can get a premium price.

So technically yes, some farmers are starting to move away from the traited corn seed. Technically yes, if you only used traited corn seed and did not spray any other pesticide through the season and had an outbreak of root worm it would decrease your yield significantly vs. a non GMO corn seed that had been treated throughout the season with a pesticide labeled for western corn root worm.

The article is correct .. but really misleading. There are a LOT of things not said that probably should be to give you the whole picture

Worth1 · February 7, 2014

That's what we have you here for Barbee.

It is horrible that you just cant get the whole story about anything from the media or any place else.

There are just too many agendas.

Worth

Douglas_OW · February 7, 2014

Barbee,
I always like hearing about real world experiances from people that are actually doing the things that I only read about. You are an "expert witness" for what works and doesn't work for you.
There are a couple of shows that I watch on RFD TV. They are interesting in that I learn things that I would never otherwise have any exposure to. One show is Ag-PHD, hosted by two brothers that are real farmers and also are proprietors of a seed and ag fertilizer/chemical distributor. They spend alot of time discussing their farming decisons in terms of return on investment, including seed cost, fuel, fertilizers, herbicides, labor and other inputs. Depending on your point of view, you may consider that they have an agenda that they are pushing, but I don't feel that way. I think that they are just saying that "this is what we do, and these are our results".
Another show is Corn College TV. Much more info than I ever wanted about how corn is grown, and the many ways a crop can fail. Also a lot of insight into what farmers might have been able to do to avoid crop failure, or at least minimize risk.

Both shows also address the differences in"best practices" in various regions and for different approaches- ie no till, conventional, organic, et al.
All of this TV has made me an expert farmer, much the way that many of my friends have become expert football coaches, world leaders, and other "armchair experts".

Jim

February 6, 2014	#1
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	Farmers leaving GMO for economic reasons http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/02/0...will-surprise/ Interesting read. GMO corn is now less effective because the pests and weeds have adapted. Combined with the high price of GMO seed, this tilts the pendulum in favor of traditional non-gmo seed. Note that the non-gmo seed is still hybrid seed, not open pollinated. There are some glitches in this article around the use of herbicides. What it does not say but has to mean is that they are using pre-plant herbicides as in non-roundup herbicides to control weeds. This also means heavier reliance on neonicotinoid pesticides which is a huge negative for beekeepers. If you read through the industry news, Monsanto has a case of blue funk about the situation and is attempting to integrate even more disease, pest, and herbicide tolerant genes into their products. They see the writing on this wall. Here is another article about chinese theft of seed technology. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/us...e-efforts.html Last edited by Fusion_power; February 6, 2014 at 02:32 PM.

February 6, 2014	#6
Hermitian BANNED Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Vista, CA Posts: 1,112	The trend is crop-specific. Sales of GMO cotton and alfalfa are at all-time highs. __________________ Richard _<\|\|>_

February 6, 2014	#2
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	That's over $88.000 per 1000 acres to grow GMO corn. Do these people think farmers cant add. Worth

February 6, 2014	#3
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,896	That IS good news!!! I wondered why the makers of Cheerios announced that they were going to be switching to non-GMO corn. As usual, it's a case of "follow the money!" Linda

February 6, 2014	#4
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Thank you for the articles. I don't understand why it is a national security issue that the Chinese are stealing corn sprouts from a field. They're just going to sell the same seeds back to US farmers for less money. "What ensued was about a year of F.B.I. surveillance of Mr. Mo and his associates" That doesn't sound cheap. They probably spent a million bucks of tax payer money, and they might not even get a serious conviction. I think the seed companies should be responsible for protecting their own product, not the FBI.

February 7, 2014	#12
drew51 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Sterling Heights, MI Zone 6a/5b Posts: 1,302	Monsanto is going organic: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...to-vegetables/

February 7, 2014	#15
Douglas_OW Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: NJ z5 Posts: 281	Barbee, I always like hearing about real world experiances from people that are actually doing the things that I only read about. You are an "expert witness" for what works and doesn't work for you. There are a couple of shows that I watch on RFD TV. They are interesting in that I learn things that I would never otherwise have any exposure to. One show is Ag-PHD, hosted by two brothers that are real farmers and also are proprietors of a seed and ag fertilizer/chemical distributor. They spend alot of time discussing their farming decisons in terms of return on investment, including seed cost, fuel, fertilizers, herbicides, labor and other inputs. Depending on your point of view, you may consider that they have an agenda that they are pushing, but I don't feel that way. I think that they are just saying that "this is what we do, and these are our results". Another show is Corn College TV. Much more info than I ever wanted about how corn is grown, and the many ways a crop can fail. Also a lot of insight into what farmers might have been able to do to avoid crop failure, or at least minimize risk. Both shows also address the differences in"best practices" in various regions and for different approaches- ie no till, conventional, organic, et al. All of this TV has made me an expert farmer, much the way that many of my friends have become expert football coaches, world leaders, and other "armchair experts". Jim