Janet Carpenter and Leonard GianessiNational Center for Food and Agricultural Policy Soybean growers have adopted herbicide tolerant varieties at a rapid rate. While some potential cost savings may have driven adoption, the primary reason growers are switching to new programs is the…

Murray Fulton and Lynette KeyowskiUniversity of Saskatchewan, Canada The commercial sale of herbicide resistant (HR) canola has raised questions about the benefits of this new technology for seed and chemical companies, farmers, consumers, and other players in the supply chain. In this…

Greg Traxler and José Falck-ZepedaAuburn University Some concern has been expressed about the potential for abuse of monopoly power in the marketing of genetically modified (GM) seeds in the United States (US). Are the firms marketing GM seeds extracting all of the…

Gregg HillyerProgressive Farmer Transgenic crops promise to drastically change how farmers produce and market their feedgrains and oilseeds. These changes will produce challenges for United States (US) farmers and the entire agricultural industry. How these obstacles are resolved will impact the future…

John FetrowUniversity of Minnesota Since its adoption in 1994 in the United States (US), Monsanto’s rBST product, Posilac®, has been very rapidly adopted by the commercial dairy industry. It has been shown in repeated studies to be safe for cows and to…

L.J. ButlerUniversity of California-Davis This brief paper addresses some of the issues that surround rBST use on United States (US) dairy farms 5 years after its commercial availability. Specifically, the focus of our inquiry is on two fundamental issues. First, has this…

Karen CoaldrakeContext Consulting Adoption of agronomic traits has led to investment into quality traits. However, true values of these traits are poorly understood. Traits may lack the required value to satisfy all participants in the chain from technology supplier to end user….

Svetlana Bohorova and Frank ScrimgeourUniversity of Waikato, New Zealand Significant productivity gains are achievable from the improvement of kiwifruit. Genetic engineering is perceived as a tool for product diversification associated with alterations in quality attributes and the seasonal growth of kiwifruit. Benefits…

Talah S. Arabiyat, Eduardo Segarra, and David B. WillisTexas Tech University A county-wide dynamic optimization model is used to evaluate the potential contributions associated with the adoption of sophisticated irrigation system technology and anticipated biotechnological advances in crop production on ground water…

Drew L. KershenUniversity of Oklahoma Biotechnology is the latest historical example of a scientific discipline creating enormous cultural, social, and public policy controversies. By comparing biotechnology to these past controversies, and by comparing biotechnology to present-day computer technology, Professor Kershen argues that…