July 1, 2003

From Checkbiotech.org

Soybean planting in the US was down to 73.7 million acres this year, the lowest level since 1998, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

It is the third consecutive year that soybean planting has been reduced, with this year’s planting coming in at 105,000 acres less than last year.

Eleven states, including Arkansas, South Dakota and Ohio, planted smaller soybean crops. In North Dakota, however, soybean crops have been increasing and farmers planted a record 3.1 million acres this year. In fact, 15 states increased their soybean acreage. In some southeastern states this was because persistent rains had hampered efforts to plant cotton and corn, reported the Associated Press.

The USDA’s annual survey showed that Monsanto’s genetically modified Roundup Ready soybeans accounted for 76% of the total soybean crop, compared to 70% last year.

Growers planted 79.1 million acres of corn, which was virtually the same as last year. Biotech corn accounted for 40% of total acreage, up six percentage points on last year.

Farmers planted 60.9 million acres of wheat this year, up 1% from last year, the USDA said.

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The USDA/ERS June 2003 Oil Crops Outlook is at http://www.seedquest.com/statistics/usa/ers.htm