Although biotech crops may cost Brazilian farmers a bit more for seed - 40 cents a pound - the $60 they save in chemical costs and higher yields more than make up the difference, according to an article from by DTN reporter Kieran Gartlan today.
You can find the article here.
Be sure to read through to the end. There's a good quote there.
The article quotes a farmer in west Parana state saying that genetically modified corn "is here to stay."
Gartlan wrote that Brazil's Biotechnology Information Council, said that around 30 percent of the country's second crop corn, planted in February and March, was of biotech varieties, well above the 19 percent that was expected. Estimates are that 50 percent of the crop will be biotech when planting begins in again September.
It appears a shortage of seed may have been the limiting factor for the second crop.
The technology may help raise Brazil's average corn yield, which is currently around 60 bushels per acre. Yields average 100 bushels/acre in Argentina and more than 150 bushels in the U.S.
A technical director at a cooperative in Parana estimated that yields could jump 15 or 20 percent as the adoption of biotech corn increases over the next few years.
Gartlan said Brazil currently produces about to 60 million metric tons of corn a year and exports about 10 mmt of that. A 15 percent increase in yields take production close to 70 mmt and allow exports to double to more than 20 mmt a year.
In other words, biotech corn will allow farmers can grow more corn on the same or less amount of land. A scenario that can be repeated in other parts of the world. How will that impact land use - especially as it relates to ethanol?
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