Though Some Doubt This
A New York Times article (September 20, 2013) raises widespread doubts about the overall value of glyphosate, used in the pesticides Roundup and Buccaneer, to kill weeds.
Debate Affects Biotech Crops
Some 90% of corn, soybeans, and sugar beets grown in the U.S. are biotech crops.
Above and beyond the controversies involving the health and environmental consequences of biotech foods and the fight to force labeling, some farmers are having second thoughts, because of what biotech crops and the extensive use of glyphosate do to the soil.
A Farmer Who Tried Biotech and Why He Gave Up
Mike Verhoef, farming in Sanborn, Iowa, switched several years ago to biotech corn and soybeans on his 350 acres, regularly rotating his two crops with oats--oats not genetically engineered!--in order to replenish soil nutrients.
Soil Quality Noticeably Affected
Verhoef quickly noticed his soil becoming hard and compacted. To work it, he had to use a bigger tractor and consequently use more gas.
Crop Yield Dropped Drastically
Moreover, the yield on his oats overtime dropped by about half! He finally realized that "What I was using to treat the . . . corn and soy was doing something to my soil that was killing off my oats."
Back to the Old Ways
Two years ago, Verhoef gave up on biotech corn, soy, and glyphosate. He returned to growing conventional crops again, using products from Verity, a small company that works to persuade farmers to switch back to conventional crops (see http://www.verityfarms.comhttp://www.verityfarms.com).
Fully Convinced!
Verhoef says not only has his soil improved, but his yield of conventional corn and soy are "average to above average" compared with neighboring farmers growing biotech crops. Despite what his neighbors do or think, he states emphatically:
I'm not turning back, because I haven't seen anything
that is going to change my mind
about glyphosate!
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