I farm 1400 acres of corn and soybeans in Clay County. While there have been a few guys trying organic and other alternative methods in the area, this is still in the heart of hard core farming country. As a farmer I have noticed the beginnings of a trend away from GMO crops. The two factors driving this are weed resistance to Roundup and cost. A bag of seed corn that will plant about 2 ½ acres costs about $180 for conventional and $320 for a full GMO package. I planted 80 acres in 2014 with pretty good yields but a few weed escapes around the edge of the field. I am bumping that up to 200 acres in 2015. One of the problems is that the seed companies didn’t see the potential demand which has been accentuated by low crop prices and they don’t have some of their better varieties in the conventional form. If I could have gotten some of the best yielding varieties in conventional I would have planted more. Farming is an extremely competitive business and farmers are always looking to the bottom line. The allure of GMO’s is they make farming easier and they provide insurance against pests. Insurance and tillage are the two primary areas where farmers will do things that don’t necessarily make sense, just for the peace of mind they provide (the GMO’s provide insurance against potential problems and tillage which enhances erosion, can make production easier in challenging weather conditions). Looking at farming in general, the thing that really scares me is the 2,4D resistant crops which could result in much of the state living in fumes for a good part of the summer and the destruction of many sensitive crops like grapes. I am afraid we are too late on this one however. It will be interesting and terrifying to see the potential spike in Hodgkin’s lymphoma down the line. Steve Swan From: Iowa Discussion, Alerts and Announcements [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of l Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2014 3:59 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Fwd: Farmer interest in non-GMO beans, corn grows Finally so,=me Finally some good news,--Tom -----Original Message----- From: Laurel Hopwood <[log in to unmask]> To: CONS-SPST-BIOTECH-FORUM <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thu, Dec 18, 2014 11:23 am Subject: Farmer interest in non-GMO beans, corn grows Fantastic news ... farmers are "getting it." Laurel Hopwood, Chair, Sierra Club Genetic Engineering Action Team Email: [log in to unmask] http://gmwatch.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=29cbc7e6c21e0a8fd2a82aeb8&i d=71b0305f1c&e=fd8a918f71 Farmer interest in non-GMO beans, corn grows edited Wayne Hoener, vice president of sales for eMerge, a Des Moines-based seed company that sells non-GMO corn and soybean seed to farmers, says there has been strong interest from farmers for non-GMO seed for next spring. There are several reasons for that interest, he says. One of the reasons is - there have long been concerns about the potential for weed resistance to glyphosate. Interest in non-GMO crops has been increasing in recent years, Hoener says. One reason for that is companies producing non-GMO seed have done a better job of producing varieties that yield as well as the GMO varieties. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-BIOTECH-FORUM list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/