Three decades ago, a good year meant 90 bushels of corn and 25 bushels of soybeans an acre. This season those amounts would be disastrously low. My neighbors and I expect twice as much production from every acre. We’ve shifted away from growing wheat because it makes economic sense.
The difference between the modest improvement in wheat and the huge improvement in corn and soybeans is technology. The genetic-modification technologies that make my production more efficient and defend my corn and soybeans from weeds, pests, extreme weather and disease aren’t available for wheat.
It’s not a problem of biology but a choice. Scientists know how to produce genetically modified wheat. Yet the wheat industry has refused to commercialize it.
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In March, global food prices hit an all-time high. As long as war rages between Russia and Ukraine, wheat will stay costly. The U.S. could perform a useful leadership role by approving the technology for cultivation and sale domestically—and encouraging other countries to approve innovative and safe wheat technology. That type of leadership would help in the fight against food-price inflation and improve the long-term outlook for global food security. It would also be good for American farmers like me.
