Washington, DC
July 2, 2008Source:
USDA/ERS
Overview
U.S. farmers have adopted
genetically engineered (GE) crops widely since their
introduction in 1996, notwithstanding uncertainty about consumer
acceptance and economic and environmental impacts. Soybeans and
cotton genetically engineered with herbicide-tolerant traits
have been the most widely and rapidly adopted GE crops in the
U.S., followed by insect-resistant cotton and corn. This product
summarizes the extent of adoption of herbicide-tolerant and
insect–resistant crops since their introduction in 1996. Three
tables devoted to
corn,
cotton, and
soybeans cover the 2000-08 period by State. See more on
extent of adoption...
Data
The following tables provide
the data obtained by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics
Service (NASS) in the June Agricultural Survey for 2000, 2001,
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Randomly selected
farmers across the United States were asked if they planted
corn, soybeans, or upland cotton seed that, through
biotechnology, is resistant to herbicides, insects, or both.
Conventionally bred herbicide-tolerant varieties were excluded.
Stacked gene varieties include those containing GE traits for
both herbicide tolerance (HT) and insect resistance (Bt).
According to NASS, the States
published in these tables represent 81-86 percent of all corn
planted acres, 88-90 percent of all soybean planted acres, and
81-93 percent of all upland cotton planted acres (depending on
the year). See more on the
extent of adoption.
The acreage estimates are
subject to sampling variability because all operations planting
GE varieties are not included in the sample. The variability for
the 48 corn States, calculated by NASS using the relative
standard error at the U.S. level, is 0.5-1.8 percent for all GE
varieties (depending on the year), 1.6-2.4 percent for
insect-resistant (Bt)-only varieties, 1.7-3.8 percent for
herbicide-tolerant-only varieties, and 1.3-10.8 percent for
stacked gene varieties. Variability for the 31 soybean States is
0.3-0.8 percent for herbicide-tolerant varieties, depending on
the year. Variability for the 17 upland cotton States is 0.8-2.2
percent for all GE varieties, 4.6-5.6 percent for
insect-resistant (Bt)-only varieties, 2.6-6.6 percent for
herbicide-tolerant-only varieties, and 2.4-4.2 percent for
stacked gene varieties.
Updates
The tables will be updated with
2009 GE adoption figures in July 2009 once the survey data
become available at the end of June 2009.
Data Sources
Check the
data glossary for details of the different surveys that
provided the data.
Related Resources
Many people are interested in
information about the global GE acreage. USDA does not collect
these data. Estimates are produced by the International Service
for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) and can
be found in the report,
Global Status of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2007. |
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