Corn Production Considerations Regarding Transgeneic Hybrids

(Joe Lauer)¹
February 2001

1. All GMO seed sold in the U.S. is approved for sale and use in the U.S. Grain production which will either be fed on the farm on which it is produced, or sold into a local feed market in Wisconsin is not likely to be affected by the GMO debate. Most of the concerns articulated thus far involve grain either headed for the export market or going into the U.S. food processing industries.
2. Know where you plan to market your crop.
3. Corn hybrids that are not GMO are: high oil corn, Clearfield (IMI) corn, white corn, and waxy corn. STS soybeans are non-GMOs.
4. GMO crops include: all BT corn hybrids, Liberty Link Corn, Roundup Ready Corn, High Oleic Acid Soybeans, and Roundup Ready Soybeans.
5. Correctly identify the specific type of GMO hybrid you plan to plant on your farm.
6. Check Appendix A for the import Status of GMOs.
7. Non-export approved GMOs should be considered for use in domestic feeding systems first.
8. Evaluate carefully the costs and benefits of your seed and pest management program for both biotech and non-biotech varieties and hybrids.
• Consider yields, weed insect, and disease management, crop management flexibility, marketing risks, premiums.
9. Pollen from a field with a GMO corn hybrid can “contaminate” a non-GMO hybrid in a neighboring field.
• Contamination will probably be low, but tests may unexpectedly detect GMOs.
• Most corn pollen falls within 50 feet of the field. However, the isolation requirement for certified corn hybrid seed production is 660 feet.
• Farmers who have previously produced StarLink corn should rotate the field into a non-corn crop and control volunteer corn to prevent contamination.
• Field observations have reported pollen drift as far as a couple of miles.
• It is difficult to certify that a non-GMO hybrid will not be contaminated if growing in an area where GMO hybrids are produced.
• Segregating cornfields at greater distances is contrary to a wise pest-resistance management program. Current research indicates non-GMO blocks must be planted within blocks that are within one-half mile of GMO hybrids, for resistance management considerations.
10. Farmers should insist that seed companies verify that the hybrid being sold as seed has been tested for the presence of Cry9c (StarLink Bt).
11. Soybeans are self-pollinated and GMO pollen should not contaminate neighboring field

¹ Associate Professor and Extension Agronomist, University of Wisconsin College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

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