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July 1, 2008
For farmers in the USA,
genetically modified (GM) crops are a matter of course. In
2008, GM crops were cultivated on almost 60 million hectares.
This represents a growth of ten per cent in comparison to 2007,
as can be read in the cultivation statistics published on 30
June by the US Department of
Agriculture.
A
significant expansion of GM lines has been observed for maize.
The cultivation of GM types increased by seven percentage points
and now represents 80 percent of all planted maize. Almost one
half of GM maize used in 2008 displays combined resistance to
insects and herbicides (due to the presence of ‘stacked genes’).
However, the field surface occupied by GM maize has remained
almost unchanged (with a slight rise from 27.4 to 27.7 million
hectares) as a result of a general reduction in maize area.
In the case
of soybean, GM varieties have attained near-exclusivity. Having
risen by one percentage point, such soybeans now comprise 92 per
cent of total soybean cultivation. This figure rises to more
than 95 per cent in the states of Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Missouri, South Dakota and Nebraska. Since significantly greater
quantities of soybean were planted in comparison to the previous
year, the cultivated field area of GM soybean has risen from
23.6 to 27.7 million hectares.
GM cotton
has fallen slightly from 87 to 86 per cent. The total field area
for cotton in the USA has attained its lowest acreage since 1983
and now occupies only 3.7 million hectares. Consequently, the
field area for GM cotton has been reduced to 3.2 million
hectares (2007: 3.9 million hectares).
The
official cultivation statistics of the USA Department of
Agriculture are published each year in June. The statistics are
processed by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, known
as NASS, and are based on the evaluation of seed sales and on
representative polls of farmers.
See also on GMO-Compass:
Further information:
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