Raising Corn Yields Through Technology
Increasing global demand for agricultural commodities has resulted in producers developing new business practices. Producers have been adapting new technologies and procedures to maximize returns by planting more acres and producing higher yields. Manufactures have been developing enhanced herbicides, seeds, fertilizer, and equipment to promote higher yields and more efficient business practices.
According to the USDA, since 1995, average corn yields in the United States have been above 130 bushels 13 times. During the previous 130 years the national average only reached 130 bushels twice. However, harvested corn acres have decreased from an all time high of 102.27 million acres in 1910 to an estimated 81.45 in 2010. Even though harvested acres have fallen over 20% in the past one hundred years, total production has increased from 2.8 billion bushels in 1910 to over 12.4 billion bushels in 2010. This represents a non-inflation adjusted weighted average production value of $1.4 billion in 1910 to $65.3 billion.
History of Hybrid Corn
The development of hybrid corn can be traced back to the 1860’s. Scientist Gregor Mendel was the first known researcher to study development of hybrid seeds. In the following century, three stages of hybrid development occurred: open pollination, inbreeding (transferring pollen from an individual plant to the silks of the same plant), and cross breeding (crossing selected parent plants). Single crosses are produced by crossing two separate inbred lines, while double crosses are produced by crossing two distinct single crosses.
In 1923, the first commercial hybrid was produced by Henry Wallace, under the name “Copper Cross”. Henry leveraged this breakthrough and started Hi-Bred Corn Company, which later became Pioneer Hi-Bred. Pioneer Hi-bred is currently owned by conglomerate Dupont and is the second largest seed manufacturer in the world.
By the 1930’s, Wallace and a few competitors began selling hybrid corn varieties to farmers. The added value of their hybrid seeds was known as vigor. Stronger vigor allows plants to withstand harsh weather and endure diseases and pests easier than non-hybrid seeds. This breakthrough allowed farmers to produce more corn per acre than ever before.
Other traits that establish these seeds, as high yielding hybrids were maximizing the plants harvest index, photosynthate allocation, and insensitivity to day length. Harvest index refers to the above ground weight of the plant. Scientists selected plants with the largest seeds to utilize as their breeding plants, this focus allowed for maximum production. After selectively breeding these plants, they evolved to all have the characteristic of larger seeds. These larger seeds then created more grain yield and a heavier above ground weight.
Building a plant that focused on maximizing grain portion allowed corn plants to utilize photosynthesis more efficiently. This was capable because energy produced during this process went directly towards building grain. Finally, selectively breeding plants that were not sensitive to day length, allowed more producers access to seed because plants were no longer restricted to geographical areas based solely on the amount of available sunlight.
Acceptance of hybrid seeds was dramatic, in 1934 less than one half of one percent of the United States corn acres were planted with hybrid seed. Ten years later, that number rose to 59%. In the "corn belt" that number grew to a monopolistic 90%. By 1956, virtually all of the corn planted in the United States was hybrid corn, and for the past 65 years, with rare exception, all of the corn in the United State has been hybrid.
Introduction to Biotechnology
Biotechnology was introduced into the seed manufacturing industry when, companies such as Monsanto, Upjohn, Lubrizo, and Celanese began acquiring hybrid seed research and production companies. Celanese began the frenzy with its acquisition of Joseph Harris Seed, and Monsanto followed suit with Jacob Hartz Seed. Biotechnology companies believed their technology could add value to these companies by genetically modifying seeds to increase plant vigor and overall production.
In the mid 1970’s, seed manufacturers began producing genetically modified seed, but didn’t begin to market it until the mid 1990’s. The reason for the delay was, genetically modified seed was met with strong resistance from consumer and environmental groups, which questioned the safety of genetically modified seed. Many countries, such as Zambia, Venezuela, and the European Union put moratoriums on imports containing genetically modified seed. Even in Zambia case which left its famine plagued population without food aid.
GMO Enhancements
The most commonly marketed traits added through genetically modifying seed were; resistance to glyphosate (Roundup), resistance to corn borer, and resistance to corn root worm. Arguably, these have been the most important additions to the industry; however manufacturers continue to adapt seed genetics to tolerate different growing climates, management practices, and diseases.
Seed companies now stack (single, double, triple, quad, etc.) traits together to offer producers multiple modes of protection encapsulated within one seed. In 1997, Monsanto created the first triple stack corn seed known as Yieldgard. Currently, Yieldgard provides resistance or tolerance to the following insect pests: corn rootworms, corn borers, black cutworms, sugarcane and stalk borers, wireworms, white grubs, seed corn maggots, early flea beetle, and corn earworm. In addition Yieldgard is also glyphosate resistant.
When a farmer plants corn with Yieldgard genetics, they are required to plant “Refuge” corn. Refuge corn is corn without the insect resistance genetics. The refuge requirement for Yieldgard is 20%. To calculate the amount of refuge acres a producer needs, they can multiply their total acres planted with Yieldgard genetics by 20%. This number is the amount of refuge corn acres that must be planted in addition to the Yieldgard corn acres. Growers can still protect refuge acres by applying an insecticide with their seed in the spring.
In 2006, Dow AgroScience introduced Herculex as the first competitor to Monsanto’s Yieldgard line. Herculex includes resistances or tolerances to the following insects: corn borer, cutworm, fall armyworm, sugarcane and stalk borers, and suppresses corn earworm. In addition to being glyphosate resistant, Herculex seeds include Liberty Link genetics, which is also a herbicide resistance. Liberty Link protects a crop against the herbicide Ignite, which was formerly known as Liberty. Refuge requirements for Herculex are the same as Yieldgard – 20%.
In 2010, a partnership between Dow AgroScience and Monsanto, created the SmartStax seed line. This variety has both Herculex and Yieldgard genetics, which provide the following insect tolerances and resistances: wireworm, seed corn maggot, black cutworm, corn rootworm, European corn borer, western bean cutworm, corn earworm, and fall armyworm. SmartStax also include glyphosate and Liberty resistances. The biggest difference between Smartstax and the previous mentioned genetics is the refuge requirement was reduced to 5% of total acres.
As a value added service to Smartstax, Monsanto introduced Refuge in a Bag in 2011. Refuge in a bag eliminates the need to purchase two separate varieties of seed or plant additional refuge acres because the appropriate level of non-Bt seed is already included in each bag. Dupont also came out with a similar but slightly more confusing system called AcreMax. AcreMax has two separate systems, AcreMax RW and AcreMax 1. Producers planting AcreMax RW are not required to plant additional refuge. While those using Acremax 1 are required to plant a 20% structured refuge area for corn borers. Producers planting both options can count AcreMax RW acres towards their required corn borer refuge for AcreMax 1 fields.
Modes of Protection
In 1996, the first of the three major traits to be released was corn borer resistance; specifically the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) protein was introduced into the plant. Prior to Bt technology, farmers could only control corn borer by spraying timely applications of insecticide, which is very difficult to do on a large scale. It is estimated that damage and control costs in North America alone used to exceed $1 billion per year. In 1995, one large outbreak in Minnesota cost producers an estimated $285 million in production.
Timeliness of application was important because, corn borer moths lay their eggs on the outside of corn plants, and once they hatch, the larvae eat into the plant, destroying it as they go. Once inside the plant, the larvae cannot be touched by insecticide sprays or other control methods. This means farmers would have to monitor their crops and hope the weather won’t prevent spraying the day the larvae hatch. With the Bt protein now in the plant, when a corn borer ingests part of the plant, the protein breaks down the borers stomach wall causing bacteria to invade its body cavity. Within hours of first digestion the corn borer is dead.
Glyphosate (Roundup) resistance was the next major innovation for the seed industry. Monsanto was the first seed manufacturer to produce plants genetically engineered to be tolerant to glyphosate, which they branded and marketed as Roundup Ready. In 1996, Monsanto produced the first Roundup Ready crop, which was soybeans at their Agracetus Campus located in Middleton, Wisconsin. They quickly followed with Roundup Ready corn in 1998 and have produced other Roundup Ready crops including, canola, sugar beets, cotton, wheat, and alfalfa.
While the use of glyphosate resistant crops has increased the usage of herbicides measured in pounds applied per acre, the use of glyphosate resistant crops has changed the herbicide use profile away from atrazine, metribuzin, and alachlor which are more likely to be present in runoff water.
In addition to limiting the amount of environmentally dangerous herbicides farmers apply to their fields; glyphosate resistant crops have helped many producers expand their operations using scale and increase margins. The use of glyphosate has allowed farmers to expand their operations because controlling weeds is easier and less time consuming than removing weeds with a field cultivator. This management practice has helped increase yields because growing plants no longer compete against noxious weeds for nutrients and water held in the soil.
The corn rootworm has been called the “billion-dollar bug”, because the United States Department of Agriculture estimates that corn rootworms cause $1 billion in lost revenue for producers each year, which includes $800 million in yield loss and $200 million in cost of treatment for growers. For hundreds of years farm management practices called for the use of insecticides and crop rotation, which is the process of annually rotating different types of crops in fields.
These practices helped reduce pressure from corn rootworms, which only feed on corn roots. If larvae are hatched in a field that was rotated to soybeans they would starve to death, because they cannot move more than 10-20 inches to find a food source. However, certain species of corn rootworms have demonstrated the ability to develop resistance to some insecticides and adapt to various crop rotation practices by laying its eggs in soybean or wheat fields. Furthermore, other varieties of corn rootworms have developed delayed hatching tendencies, where only a portion of its eggs hatch the following year. The remaining eggs hatch two, three, four, and even five years later making crop rotation an impossible option for suppression.
In 2003, Monsanto began introducing genetically modified corn seed resistant to corn rootworm. The seed produces a Bt toxin that is concentrated in corns root system, which kills the corn rootworm larvae. Because the potential for the development of resistance to Bt-rootworm corn is considered to be so high all growers who use this technology must follow an approved, resistance management plan as described above.
Debate over Genetic Traits
Arguments are made every day about whether removing offensive traits to add defensive traits to seed genetics actually enhances yields or just takes away potential return from producers. Unbiased studies show that conventional crops will out yield genetically modified seeds when crops do not experience stress from insects, weeds, and/or disease. However, these growing utopias are very uncommon and actively managing large amounts of land is very time consuming and difficult for producers to accomplish.
Producers that can actively manage and understand their soils growing conditions are aware of potential threats and can strategically select seed based on known facts. For example, if a producer’s area has zero rootworm pressure, purchasing a seed with rootworm resistance would provide zero added value to the producer. By actively managing this specific farm the producer stands to maximize his potential return by purchasing seed only stacked with corn borer and glyphosate resistance traits.
Conclusion
Roughly 6.9 billion people inhabit the earth in 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, compared to 1.7 billion in 1900 and 5.8 billion in 1985. The population has steadily grown since the beginning of time, but the beginning of the Industrial Revolution started a population explosion. Improvement in technology, healthcare, and life expectancies accelerated the rate of increase in the world’s population. The human population has increased by a factor of four in just the last century.
The rate of population growth is not expected to temper as the United Nations (U.N.) estimates the world’s population will likely reach 9.2 billion in 2050. To feed the world’s growing and developing population, new technologies and increasing crop yields will be the primary factor in achieving these lofty goals.
- Colvin
According to the USDA, since 1995, average corn yields in the United States have been above 130 bushels 13 times. During the previous 130 years the national average only reached 130 bushels twice. However, harvested corn acres have decreased from an all time high of 102.27 million acres in 1910 to an estimated 81.45 in 2010. Even though harvested acres have fallen over 20% in the past one hundred years, total production has increased from 2.8 billion bushels in 1910 to over 12.4 billion bushels in 2010. This represents a non-inflation adjusted weighted average production value of $1.4 billion in 1910 to $65.3 billion.
History of Hybrid Corn
The development of hybrid corn can be traced back to the 1860’s. Scientist Gregor Mendel was the first known researcher to study development of hybrid seeds. In the following century, three stages of hybrid development occurred: open pollination, inbreeding (transferring pollen from an individual plant to the silks of the same plant), and cross breeding (crossing selected parent plants). Single crosses are produced by crossing two separate inbred lines, while double crosses are produced by crossing two distinct single crosses.
In 1923, the first commercial hybrid was produced by Henry Wallace, under the name “Copper Cross”. Henry leveraged this breakthrough and started Hi-Bred Corn Company, which later became Pioneer Hi-Bred. Pioneer Hi-bred is currently owned by conglomerate Dupont and is the second largest seed manufacturer in the world.
By the 1930’s, Wallace and a few competitors began selling hybrid corn varieties to farmers. The added value of their hybrid seeds was known as vigor. Stronger vigor allows plants to withstand harsh weather and endure diseases and pests easier than non-hybrid seeds. This breakthrough allowed farmers to produce more corn per acre than ever before.
Other traits that establish these seeds, as high yielding hybrids were maximizing the plants harvest index, photosynthate allocation, and insensitivity to day length. Harvest index refers to the above ground weight of the plant. Scientists selected plants with the largest seeds to utilize as their breeding plants, this focus allowed for maximum production. After selectively breeding these plants, they evolved to all have the characteristic of larger seeds. These larger seeds then created more grain yield and a heavier above ground weight.
Building a plant that focused on maximizing grain portion allowed corn plants to utilize photosynthesis more efficiently. This was capable because energy produced during this process went directly towards building grain. Finally, selectively breeding plants that were not sensitive to day length, allowed more producers access to seed because plants were no longer restricted to geographical areas based solely on the amount of available sunlight.
Acceptance of hybrid seeds was dramatic, in 1934 less than one half of one percent of the United States corn acres were planted with hybrid seed. Ten years later, that number rose to 59%. In the "corn belt" that number grew to a monopolistic 90%. By 1956, virtually all of the corn planted in the United States was hybrid corn, and for the past 65 years, with rare exception, all of the corn in the United State has been hybrid.
Introduction to Biotechnology
Biotechnology was introduced into the seed manufacturing industry when, companies such as Monsanto, Upjohn, Lubrizo, and Celanese began acquiring hybrid seed research and production companies. Celanese began the frenzy with its acquisition of Joseph Harris Seed, and Monsanto followed suit with Jacob Hartz Seed. Biotechnology companies believed their technology could add value to these companies by genetically modifying seeds to increase plant vigor and overall production.
In the mid 1970’s, seed manufacturers began producing genetically modified seed, but didn’t begin to market it until the mid 1990’s. The reason for the delay was, genetically modified seed was met with strong resistance from consumer and environmental groups, which questioned the safety of genetically modified seed. Many countries, such as Zambia, Venezuela, and the European Union put moratoriums on imports containing genetically modified seed. Even in Zambia case which left its famine plagued population without food aid.
GMO Enhancements
The most commonly marketed traits added through genetically modifying seed were; resistance to glyphosate (Roundup), resistance to corn borer, and resistance to corn root worm. Arguably, these have been the most important additions to the industry; however manufacturers continue to adapt seed genetics to tolerate different growing climates, management practices, and diseases.
Seed companies now stack (single, double, triple, quad, etc.) traits together to offer producers multiple modes of protection encapsulated within one seed. In 1997, Monsanto created the first triple stack corn seed known as Yieldgard. Currently, Yieldgard provides resistance or tolerance to the following insect pests: corn rootworms, corn borers, black cutworms, sugarcane and stalk borers, wireworms, white grubs, seed corn maggots, early flea beetle, and corn earworm. In addition Yieldgard is also glyphosate resistant.
When a farmer plants corn with Yieldgard genetics, they are required to plant “Refuge” corn. Refuge corn is corn without the insect resistance genetics. The refuge requirement for Yieldgard is 20%. To calculate the amount of refuge acres a producer needs, they can multiply their total acres planted with Yieldgard genetics by 20%. This number is the amount of refuge corn acres that must be planted in addition to the Yieldgard corn acres. Growers can still protect refuge acres by applying an insecticide with their seed in the spring.
In 2006, Dow AgroScience introduced Herculex as the first competitor to Monsanto’s Yieldgard line. Herculex includes resistances or tolerances to the following insects: corn borer, cutworm, fall armyworm, sugarcane and stalk borers, and suppresses corn earworm. In addition to being glyphosate resistant, Herculex seeds include Liberty Link genetics, which is also a herbicide resistance. Liberty Link protects a crop against the herbicide Ignite, which was formerly known as Liberty. Refuge requirements for Herculex are the same as Yieldgard – 20%.
In 2010, a partnership between Dow AgroScience and Monsanto, created the SmartStax seed line. This variety has both Herculex and Yieldgard genetics, which provide the following insect tolerances and resistances: wireworm, seed corn maggot, black cutworm, corn rootworm, European corn borer, western bean cutworm, corn earworm, and fall armyworm. SmartStax also include glyphosate and Liberty resistances. The biggest difference between Smartstax and the previous mentioned genetics is the refuge requirement was reduced to 5% of total acres.
As a value added service to Smartstax, Monsanto introduced Refuge in a Bag in 2011. Refuge in a bag eliminates the need to purchase two separate varieties of seed or plant additional refuge acres because the appropriate level of non-Bt seed is already included in each bag. Dupont also came out with a similar but slightly more confusing system called AcreMax. AcreMax has two separate systems, AcreMax RW and AcreMax 1. Producers planting AcreMax RW are not required to plant additional refuge. While those using Acremax 1 are required to plant a 20% structured refuge area for corn borers. Producers planting both options can count AcreMax RW acres towards their required corn borer refuge for AcreMax 1 fields.
Modes of Protection
In 1996, the first of the three major traits to be released was corn borer resistance; specifically the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) protein was introduced into the plant. Prior to Bt technology, farmers could only control corn borer by spraying timely applications of insecticide, which is very difficult to do on a large scale. It is estimated that damage and control costs in North America alone used to exceed $1 billion per year. In 1995, one large outbreak in Minnesota cost producers an estimated $285 million in production.
Timeliness of application was important because, corn borer moths lay their eggs on the outside of corn plants, and once they hatch, the larvae eat into the plant, destroying it as they go. Once inside the plant, the larvae cannot be touched by insecticide sprays or other control methods. This means farmers would have to monitor their crops and hope the weather won’t prevent spraying the day the larvae hatch. With the Bt protein now in the plant, when a corn borer ingests part of the plant, the protein breaks down the borers stomach wall causing bacteria to invade its body cavity. Within hours of first digestion the corn borer is dead.
Glyphosate (Roundup) resistance was the next major innovation for the seed industry. Monsanto was the first seed manufacturer to produce plants genetically engineered to be tolerant to glyphosate, which they branded and marketed as Roundup Ready. In 1996, Monsanto produced the first Roundup Ready crop, which was soybeans at their Agracetus Campus located in Middleton, Wisconsin. They quickly followed with Roundup Ready corn in 1998 and have produced other Roundup Ready crops including, canola, sugar beets, cotton, wheat, and alfalfa.
While the use of glyphosate resistant crops has increased the usage of herbicides measured in pounds applied per acre, the use of glyphosate resistant crops has changed the herbicide use profile away from atrazine, metribuzin, and alachlor which are more likely to be present in runoff water.
In addition to limiting the amount of environmentally dangerous herbicides farmers apply to their fields; glyphosate resistant crops have helped many producers expand their operations using scale and increase margins. The use of glyphosate has allowed farmers to expand their operations because controlling weeds is easier and less time consuming than removing weeds with a field cultivator. This management practice has helped increase yields because growing plants no longer compete against noxious weeds for nutrients and water held in the soil.
The corn rootworm has been called the “billion-dollar bug”, because the United States Department of Agriculture estimates that corn rootworms cause $1 billion in lost revenue for producers each year, which includes $800 million in yield loss and $200 million in cost of treatment for growers. For hundreds of years farm management practices called for the use of insecticides and crop rotation, which is the process of annually rotating different types of crops in fields.
These practices helped reduce pressure from corn rootworms, which only feed on corn roots. If larvae are hatched in a field that was rotated to soybeans they would starve to death, because they cannot move more than 10-20 inches to find a food source. However, certain species of corn rootworms have demonstrated the ability to develop resistance to some insecticides and adapt to various crop rotation practices by laying its eggs in soybean or wheat fields. Furthermore, other varieties of corn rootworms have developed delayed hatching tendencies, where only a portion of its eggs hatch the following year. The remaining eggs hatch two, three, four, and even five years later making crop rotation an impossible option for suppression.
In 2003, Monsanto began introducing genetically modified corn seed resistant to corn rootworm. The seed produces a Bt toxin that is concentrated in corns root system, which kills the corn rootworm larvae. Because the potential for the development of resistance to Bt-rootworm corn is considered to be so high all growers who use this technology must follow an approved, resistance management plan as described above.
Debate over Genetic Traits
Arguments are made every day about whether removing offensive traits to add defensive traits to seed genetics actually enhances yields or just takes away potential return from producers. Unbiased studies show that conventional crops will out yield genetically modified seeds when crops do not experience stress from insects, weeds, and/or disease. However, these growing utopias are very uncommon and actively managing large amounts of land is very time consuming and difficult for producers to accomplish.
Producers that can actively manage and understand their soils growing conditions are aware of potential threats and can strategically select seed based on known facts. For example, if a producer’s area has zero rootworm pressure, purchasing a seed with rootworm resistance would provide zero added value to the producer. By actively managing this specific farm the producer stands to maximize his potential return by purchasing seed only stacked with corn borer and glyphosate resistance traits.
Conclusion
Roughly 6.9 billion people inhabit the earth in 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, compared to 1.7 billion in 1900 and 5.8 billion in 1985. The population has steadily grown since the beginning of time, but the beginning of the Industrial Revolution started a population explosion. Improvement in technology, healthcare, and life expectancies accelerated the rate of increase in the world’s population. The human population has increased by a factor of four in just the last century.
The rate of population growth is not expected to temper as the United Nations (U.N.) estimates the world’s population will likely reach 9.2 billion in 2050. To feed the world’s growing and developing population, new technologies and increasing crop yields will be the primary factor in achieving these lofty goals.
- Colvin
Posted by Colvin & Co. at 9/12/2011 5:30 AM 
Categories: Farmland
Tags: agriculture corn EPA exports farmland fertilizer food Pesticides seed soybeans UN
Categories: Farmland
Tags: agriculture corn EPA exports farmland fertilizer food Pesticides seed soybeans UN
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