St. Louis, Missouri
April 11, 2007
Corn growers have more seed
choices than ever before, and the
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is helping them
keep up with their options.
The 2007 corn planting season is under way and NCGA’s
Know Before You Grow database is an important resource tool
with more than 4,000 biotech corn hybrids in its database. Each
listing includes the regulatory status of the hybrid – whether
it is approved for export to Japan and/or the European Union.
“Growers have to become more aware of whether their corn needs
to be channeled,” said Martin Barbre, chairman of NCGA’s
Biotechnology Working Group. “We’re getting new (biotech) traits
every year. We have to be very careful how we let that grain get
into export markets.”
NCGA began the Know Before You Grow program in 2001. At that
time, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 26
percent of corn was grown from biotech seeds. By 2005, when
biotech seed first accounted for more than 50 percent of all
corn production, the number of seed varieties in the database
had increased to more than 2,000. Today, with more than 60
percent of all corn acres planted in biotech seeds, 4,200
varieties from 77 seed companies are listed in the database.
“It’s harder to keep (the approval status of biotech hybrids)
straight,” said Barbre. “That’s why it’s important to have one
site where you can look at all the different hybrids you may
possibly plant.”
The easy-to-use Know Before You Grow database allows corn
growers to search for hybrids by seed company name, hybrid
number or characteristic. Each hybrid listed includes the status
of regulatory approval in Japan and Europe. Growers can use that
information when choosing what seed to plant, or before
marketing their crop.
Barbre credits cooperation between NCGA and seed companies for
Know Before You Grow’s continuous updates and improvement.
“We’ve done an aggressive effort of getting (lists) from every
company,” he commented.
Click
HERE for complete information about
Know Before You Grow. |
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