Are non-transgenic corn hybrids a viable alternative to stacked trait hybrids?
– Peter Thomison, Rich Minyo, Allen Geyer As was noted in a December 2008 newsletter article, transgenic corn hybrids are now the most widely grown hybrids in Ohio. According to the USDA-Economic Research Service (http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/biotechcrops/) in 2008, two thirds of the states corn acreage was planted to transgenic corn hybrids with 37% of total acreage planted to stacked trait hybrids, 17% to herbicide tolerant hybrids, and 12% to some type of Bt hybrid. It appears likely that in the near future that the availability of non-transgenic corn hybrids will be limited and that acreage of non-transgenics corn will continue to decline. However, many corn growers in Ohio (in 2008 one third of the corn acreage was non-transgenic) are still interested in growing non-transgenic corns. Some of these growers want to take advantage of the premiums offered for non-GMO corn (about $0.50 or more per bushel) and others want to grow non-GMO corn to reduce seed and herbicide costs associate
