Is There Value in Transgenic Crops?

It’s not a secret many people today are questioning the value of transgenic crops – or crops commonly known as biotech or GMOs (genetically modified organisms). But have you ever wondered what farmers or those involved in the agriculture industry have to say about them?

If so, you’re in luck.

Last week at the 2010 Beltwide Cotton Conferences in New Orleans, Louisiana, a panel of industry experts discussed the value of transgenics before a large group of cotton farmers. While some of their comments varied, they all agreed on one thing – transgenic crops do provide value on the farm.

“Yields have come up dramatically [since the introduction of transgenics],” David Hydrick, crop consultant with Hydrick’s Crop Consulting, Inc., said. “We’re farming a lot more acres than we used to, and it’s a lot simpler than it used to be.”

“When this topic was first proposed, I realized the first images that came into my mind were images before the transgenic traits were released,” said Don Parker, National Cotton Council of America’s manager of Integrated Pest Management and moderator of the panel. “I remembered interviewing farmers in the hills and southern part of Mississippi after they had spent $200 per acre trying to control the tobacco bug worms without any success. I also remembered seeing hoe crews walking across cotton fields – an image that disappeared for a long time and is starting to reappear.”

Controlling Insect Pressure

“Prior to the introduction of Bollgard® in Louisiana, we were averaging five insecticide applications for bollworm and tobacco bug worm,” Rogers Leonard, professor at Louisiana State University Ag Center, said. “However, the high number of applications could have exceeded 10-12 within a given year.

“Fortunately, after 20 years of discovery and development, in 1996, we had the opportunity to see the first commercial bt cotton plants in the field,” he continued. “I think their success cannot be questioned. We’re seeing not only a reduction in yield losses, but also a reduction in input costs.

“In general, the registration of Bollgard reduced insecticide applications for bollworm by about 50 percent.”

According to Leonard, in 1992, the Louisiana cotton crop experienced its highest level of yield loss due to pest infestations. That year, the state averaged an 8 percent loss. Since the introduction of Bollgard technology, the average yield loss in farms across the state is 1.5 percent. Leonard credits this to the fact 90 percent of cotton acres in Louisiana are planted with commercialized transgenic cotton traits, including Bollgard II®, Roundup Ready® Flex or Widestrike®.

Additionally, since the introduction of these traits, the control of most pests has moved from susceptible to satisfactory control.

Fighting Difficult-to-Manage Weeds

But pests are not the only issue impacting U.S. cotton production. In the past few years, herbicide-resistant weeds have started to emerge, and farmers across portions of the cotton belt have started questioning the value of glyphosate-resistant technologies, such as Roundup Ready®.

“Is there value in herbicide-resistance traits? Absolutely, there is value,” said Stanley Culpepper, associate professor of weed science at the University of Georgia. “Is that value changing? Yes, that value is changing in a lot of areas – and a lot of the change in value is directly related to herbicide-resistant weeds.”

“[With the introduction of glyphosate-resistant crops], there was a mass movement to no-till,” Hydrick said. “We thought maybe pre-emergent herbicides were a thing of the past, and Roundup may be the only herbicide we’d ever have to use again. Well, evolution occurs.”

To date, nine crops have been listed as glyphosate-resistant in the U.S., meaning the application of glyphosate herbicides – such as Roundup® brand herbicides – does not kill them, as they once used to.

But there are solutions.

“We have to improve the value of that technology, and there are ways we can do that,” Culpepper said. “One is taking advantage of the [Roundup Ready Cotton] Performance Plus program. Use of residual herbicides is absolutely critical. But also you have to be open-minded that we are not going to control this alone with herbicides in many areas. We will have to become integrated and we will have to use other management tactics.”

Today, the two glyphosate-resistant transgene crops on the market are Liberty Link® and Roundup Ready. However, companies are working on traits that will bring additional herbicide resistance to seeds, such as dicamba and 2,4-D.

Will there be value in these technologies? Absolutely,” Culpepper said. “It’s very, very exciting, the potential of what they have to bring to us.”

Looking Toward the Future

But enough of the experts. What does an actual cotton producer think about transgenic crops?

Barry Evans, a cotton producer from Kress, Texas, told the audience about the area where he farms. It’s an area he says many call the Great American Desert, a semi-arid climate in the high plains of Texas.

“Because of technologies, we can make this a very fertile area,” Evans said. “There are three things that are important for us to manage – wind, water and weeds.”

Evans talked about how his farming operation has changed over the years because of the introduction of insect- and herbicide-resistant technologies. But it’s not his current and past successes that excite him; It’s the future ones.

“I think we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg of what transgenics can do for us,” he said. “As our population continues to grow in the world, transgenics hold the key to the future of farming, and that’s a future where we can feed and clothe the world.”

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