Howard Vlieger’s first direct experience with GMOs came in 1997 when he planted a test plot comparing BT (GMO) corn to the conventional version of the hybrid. The seed cost was more than $10 an acre higher for the BT corn and yield was 3 bushels less per acre. In addition, the BT corn was 5 percent wetter at harvest than the conventional corn. Farmers get docked when their corn has a higher moisture content. When it was all said and done, he lost $57.99 per acre.
He planted BT corn the following year and again lost money — this time $58.95 per acre. “The BT corn failed as far as improving our profit margin compared to the conventional corn,” says Vlieger.
Around the same time he planted his first GMO test fields, he also decided to do a little experimenting on his own. He had heard from farmers in Nebraska that cows “shied away from the BT corn.” So he gave his cows the choice to consume the conventionally grown corn or BT corn. His cows ate the conventionally grown, however they smelled the BT corn and walked away from it. “That’s not normal,” says Vlieger. He has tried this with many other animals and found that if they have not been forced to consume GMOs in the past, they won’t eat them and will go for the conventional feed instead.
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Read the full original article: A Farmer’s Perspective on GMOs
