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WASHINGTON, May 8, 2003--- The recently completed national
survey of corn producers by the American Corn Growers Foundation (ACGF),
conducted as farmers began corn planting in April, shows that U.S.
corn farmers intend to plant only 34 percent of their total corn
acres to genetically modified (GMO) corn varieties. That’s 4 percent
fewer GMO corn acres in 2003 than the 38 percent indicated by USDA’s
March survey, although within the margin of error of both surveys.
The ACGF survey, conducted by Robinson and Muenster Associates, Inc.
of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and completed on April 17, 2003 polled
511 corn farmers in the fourteen major corn producing states that
represent 86 percent of total 2003 prospective corn acres according
to the USDA’s prospective corn plantings report issued March 31. The
ACGF random, scientific survey has a margin of error of +/- 4.4
percent at the 95 percent confidence level. More complete survey
data, will be posted on the ACGF website, www.acgf.org in the near
future.
“The corn farmers surveyed reported that they will plant 210,039
acres of corn in 2003, a 1.4 percent increase over the 207,060 acres
they reported planting to corn in 2002,” said Dan McGuire, director
of the Farmer Choice – Customer First information program. “Farmers
are holding their GMO corn acres to only 34 percent and 53 percent
see the rejection of GMO corn and soybeans by our largest export
customers as contributing to low corn and soybean prices.”
“Sixty-nine percent of corn farmers say it’s either very or somewhat
important to take the concerns of U.S. consumers and foreign markets
into consideration when deciding whether or not to plant GMO
varieties, and 80 percent say that if keeping their customers
satisfied and keeping world markets open to U.S. corn means planting
traditional, non-GMO corn varieties instead of biotech GMO
varieties, they are willing to do that,” reported McGuire. “These
results show that U.S. farmers are aware that GMOs are costing the
U.S. corn export sales, a fact confirmed by the president of Shinhan
Flour Mills Co. of South Korea at a media breakfast in Washington,
D.C. on May 2, 2003, when he pointed out that biotech corn caused
South Korea to stop buying the grain from the U.S. in favor of
shifting to Chinese and Brazilian corn.”
The survey shows that 88 percent of corn farmers agree that U.S.
farmers and the U.S. government should respect the rights of
European, Japanese and all consumers worldwide so they are able to
make a choice as to whether they and their children consume foods
containing GMO commodities. 77 percent agree that the U.S. should
not file a WTO (World Trade Organization) lawsuit against Europe
regarding GMOs. “The survey also shows that farmers are uncertain as
to whether the U.S. will continue to lose both corn and soybean
exports if U.S. farmers continue to grow biotech corn and soybeans,
with 44 percent saying yes, 44 percent saying no and 12 percent
saying they don’t know,” added McGuire. “But there was no
uncertainty regarding country of origin labeling as 91 percent of
U.S. corn farmers surveyed said they believe the USDA should follow
the law as passed by Congress, and its intent, by requiring country
of origin labeling (COOL) on imported meat from foreign countries,
the strongest area of agreement in the survey.”
Seventy-seven percent said the most important reason not to plant
GMO corn varieties is that farmers know that patented GMO varieties,
with their technology agreements, give biotech seed companies too
much power over farmers. 73 percent said farmers know that consumers
in the U.S. and worldwide have health and safety concerns about GMOs.
The survey questions and results are shown on the following pages. |
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Questions and Survey
Results |
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|
2002 total corn acres 207,060 |
2002 GMO acres |
59,735 |
28.8% |
|
2003 total corn
acres 210,039 |
2003 GMO acres |
72,083 |
34.3% |
|
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- We are interested in finding out
how important it is for you, as a farmer to take concerns of U.S.
consumers and foreign markets into consideration when you decide
whether to plant GMO or traditional non-GMO corn varieties. Would
you say it is important to you, not important or neither of those?
|
|
69.1% |
NET Important |
 |
|
39.7% |
Very important |
|
|
|
29.4% |
Somewhat important |
|
|
|
14.3% |
Neither important nor not
important at all |
|
|
|
16.6% |
NET Not Important |
|
|
|
9.4% |
Somewhat not important at all |
|
|
|
7.2% |
Not Important at all,
GMO corn varieties or traditional, non-GMO corn varieties |
|
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- Do you believe that the U.S. will
continue to lose both corn and soybean exports if U.S. farmers
continue to grow Roundup Ready and other biotech GMO corn and
soybean varieties?
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44.0% |
Yes |
|
|
|
44.0% |
No |
|
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|
11.9% |
Don't Know |
|
|
|
0.0% |
Refused |
|
|
|
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- Is the rejection of U.S. GMO corn
and soybeans by our largest export customers contributing to
continued low corn and soybean prices?
|
|
53.4% |
Yes |
|
|
|
34.8% |
No |
|
|
|
11.7% |
Don't Know |
|
|
|
0.0% |
Refused |
|
|
|
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- If keeping your customers
satisfied and keeping world markets open to U.S. corn means
planting traditional, non-GMO corn varieties instead of biotech
GMO corn varieties, are you willing to do that?
|
|
79.6% |
Yes |
|
|
|
16.4% |
No |
|
|
|
3.5% |
Don't Know |
|
|
|
0.4% |
Refused |
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|
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- Should U.S. farmers and the U.S.
government respect the rights of Europeans, Japanese and all
consumers worldwide so they are able to make a choice as to
whether they and their children consume foods containing GMO
commodities?
|
|
82.4% |
Yes |
|
|
|
10.6% |
No |
|
|
|
6.7% |
Don't Know |
|
|
|
0.4% |
Refused |
|
|
|
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- Do you believe that the U.S.
Department of Agriculture should follow the law as passed by
Congress and its intent by requiring Country of Origin labeling on
imported meat from foreign countries?
|
|
91.0% |
Yes |
|
|
|
5.5% |
No |
|
|
|
3.5% |
Don't Know |
|
|
|
0.0% |
Refused |
|
|
|
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- Do you agree or disagree that the
U.S. should not file a WTO lawsuit against Europe regarding GMOs?
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76.5% |
Yes |
|
|
|
14.9% |
No |
|
|
|
8.0% |
Don't Know |
|
|
|
0.6% |
Refused |
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|
|
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| Only
about 30% of U.S. corn acres are planted to GMO varieties. Farmers
have given us a variety of reasons why they have held back on
planting GMO corn. For each of these reasons tell me how important
you think that reason is to you yourself as a reason not to plant
GMO corn. Tell me if it is a very important reason, a somewhat
important reason, not too important a reason or not important as a
reason not to plant GMO corn. |
| |
- GMO corn varieties threaten U.S.
corn export sales
|
|
70.1% |
NET Important Reason |
|
|
|
36.8% |
Very important reason |
|
|
|
33.3% |
Somewhat important reason |
|
|
|
28.2% |
NET Not Important Reason |
|
|
|
15.7% |
Not to Important Reason |
|
|
|
12.5% |
Not at all Important as a reason not
to plant GMO Corn |
|
|
|
1.8% |
Don't Know |
|
|
|
0.0% |
Refused |
|
| |
- Farmers know that consumers in the
U.S. and worldwide have health and safety concerns about GMOs.
|
|
72.7% |
NET Important Reason |
|
|
| 30.2% |
Very important reason |
|
|
| 42.5% |
Somewhat important reason |
|
|
|
24.7% |
NET Not Important Reason |
|
|
| 13.5% |
Not to Important Reason |
|
|
| 11.2% |
Not at all Important as a reason not
to plant GMO Corn |
|
|
|
2.5% |
Don't Know |
|
|
|
0.0% |
Refused |
|
| |
- Farmers know that patented GMO
varieties with their technology agreements give biotech seed
companies too much power over farmers.
|
|
76.9% |
NET Important Reason |
|
|
|
49.0% |
Very important reason |
|
|
|
27.8% |
Somewhat important reason |
|
|
|
20.4% |
NET Not Important Reason |
|
|
|
11.4% |
Not to Important Reason |
|
|
|
9.0% |
Not at all Important as a reason not
to plant GMO Corn |
|
|
|
2.7% |
Don't Know |
|
|
|
0.0% |
Refused |
|
| |
- GMO seed corn varieties are too
expensive
|
|
74.0% |
NET Important Reason |
|
|
|
45.4% |
Very important reason |
|
|
|
28.6% |
Somewhat important reason |
|
|
|
23.9% |
NET Not Important Reason |
|
|
|
13.9% |
Not to Important Reason |
|
|
|
10.0% |
Not at all Important as a reason not
to plant GMO Corn |
|
|
|
2.2% |
Don't Know |
|
|
|
0.0% |
Refused |
|
| |
- There is no yield advantage from
GMO corn varieties.
|
|
40.6% |
NET Important Reason |
|
|
|
20.4% |
Very important reason |
|
|
|
20.2% |
Somewhat important reason |
|
|
|
52.2% |
NET Not Important Reason |
|
|
|
21.2% |
Not to Important Reason |
|
|
|
31.0% |
Not at all Important as a reason not
to plant GMO Corn |
|
|
|
7.3% |
Don't Know |
|
|
|
0.0% |
Refused |
|
| |
- Even when GMO corn varieties do
yield more than conventional corn varieties, there is no net
income advantage to my farm because of higher seed costs.
|
|
58.5% |
NET Important Reason |
|
|
|
30.6% |
Very important reason |
|
|
|
28.2% |
Somewhat important reason |
|
|
|
37.1% |
NET Not Important Reason |
|
|
|
15.5% |
Not to Important Reason |
|
|
|
21.6% |
Not at all Important as a reason not
to plant GMO Corn |
|
|
|
4.1% |
Don't Know |
|
|
|
0.0% |
Refused |
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