Adoption of Biotech Crops in the U.S. on the Upswing

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economics Research Service has released its data product summary on the adoption of herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant crops since their introduction in 1996. Some of the highlights are:

• HT soybeans went from 17 percent of U.S. soybean acreage in 1997 to and 93 percent in 2013. Plantings of HT cotton expanded from about 10 percent of U.S. acreage in 1997 to 82 percent in 2013. The adoption of HT corn, which had been slower in previous years, has accelerated, reaching 85 percent of U.S. corn acreage in 2013.
• Plantings of Bt corn grew from about 8 percent of U.S. corn acreage in 1997 to 76 percent in 2013. The increases in acreage share in recent years may be largely due to the commercial introduction of new Bt corn varieties resistant to the corn rootworm and the corn earworm, in addition to the European corn borer.
• Stacked cotton reached 67 percent of cotton plantings in 2013. Plantings of stacked corn made up 71 percent of corn acres in 2013.

View the original summary at http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us.aspx#.UeT_9I1HLQo.