USA: Cultivations in 2007 Increase for GM maize

In 2007, US farmers again increased the amount of genetically modified plants seeded on the fields. For soy and cotton, GM varieties have become widely accepted and provide approximately 90 percent of the agricultural production. The greatest expansion has been observed for maize: compared with 2006, the proportion of GM cultivations in the vegetation period this year has increased from 61 to 73 percent. As the complete maize cultivation area increased by 28 percent, the amount of GM maize cultivations also grew to 27.4 million hectares, representing a gain of 7.8 million hectares.

The total area of soy and cotton cultivations in the USA has declined significantly. Soy decreased by 15 percent, and cotton saw an even stronger decrease, of 28 percent, to 4.5 million hectares – the lowest level since 1989. This resulted in slightly smaller GM cultivations compared to last year, although the proportion of GM varieties for soy and cotton slightly increased. Consequently to the steep increase of GM maize cultivations, the total area of GM plants has shown an overall increase to 54.9 million hectares (2006: 53.8).

USA: Cultivation of GM plants 2007

Cultivation of GM soy in USA in %	For soy, the proportion of GM varieties has again increased by 2 percent to 91 percent (2006: 89%) of the total soy area. The area of GM soy declined from 29.6 to 23.6 mio. hectares, since less soy was cultivated in 2007. In the US state of South Dakota, GM varieties form 97% of soy production; in Nebraska, this figure lies at 96%. The GM soy plants exclusively possess herbicide resistance. For maize, the proportion of GM plants increased by 12 percent and has reached 73 percent. The proportion of insect-resistant Bt varieties on the total area has declined from 25 in 2006 to 21 percent. Herbicide-resistant varieties increased to 24 percent. The trend towards varieties with a combined insect and herbicide resistance (stacked genes) is significant and is demonstrated by an increase of 15 to 28 percent of the total maize area. The overall US maize production reached a new peak. The total area increased by 28 percent to 37.5 million hectares, with 27.4 mio. hectares accounting for GM maize. Cotton farmers decided more frequently to use GM varieties, the proportion of which grew from 83 to 87 percent. Insect-resistant varieties have decreased slightly (from 18 to 17 percent), whereas herbicide-resistant varieties grew from 18 to 26 percent. GM plants with a combined insect and herbicide resistance (stacked genes) gained 42 percent, compared with 3 percent in 2006. In 2007, the US cotton cultivation area reached a low, decreasing by 28 percent to 4.5 million hectares.
Cultivation of GM maize in USA in %
Cultivation of GM cotton in USA in %

The figures are derived from the official statistics of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). They are created by the National Statistics Service (NASS) of USDA and are based on information from seed vendors and representative surveys of farmers.

The report is published every year at the end of June and contains the most recent cultivation figures from the current vegetation period. The compilation includes figures on the areas of genetically modified soy, maize and cotton varieties.

See also on GMO-Compass:

• Worldwide GMO production reaches 102 million hectares in 2006