Biotech Crops: Biotechnology Works for Iowa Soybean Farmer Roy Bardole
Council for Biotechnology Information
August 20, 2007
An Iowa farmer explains why 75 percent of U.S. soybean acres are now planted with biotech soybeans.
As it rolls through west-central Iowa, the Raccoon River nourishes some of the most productive agricultural land on earth. The river is also a prime source of clean water for the 270,000 residents of Des Moines, Iowa's largest city. 1
Roy Bardole, who farms 1,400 acres bordering the Raccoon, makes his living from the land, but he also sees the imprint farming can leave on rivers, topsoil, animal life and water.
That's why he plants biotech soybeans, a variety designed by researchers to be able to withstand a herbicide that he only has to use once during a growing season vs. several times with conventional varieties of soybeans. Environmentally, it's the smart thing to do. Economically, it's been a proven boost to his bottom line.
Herbicide tolerant soybeans also allow Bardole to practice an ecologically friendly form of agriculture called no-till farming. Rather than plowing in the fall and harrowing before planting season, he leaves his fields virtually untouched, which in turn leaves more plant residue on the ground to replenish nutrients and hold topsoil in place. 2
Farming's oldest enemy is weeds. If Bardole planted conventional soybeans using a no-till strategy, he'd need to spray more intensively.3 With herbicide-tolerant crops, he can control weeds better and reduce costs. Better yet, he can keep yields up and do his part to reduce topsoil loss and help preserve the Raccoon.
A former president of the Iowa Soybean Association and officer of the American Soybean Association, Bardole says that it's unrealistic to believe that runoff can be completely eliminated from the river. But if he can significantly reduce runoff by plowing less, he feels obligated to do it.
"Whatever we can do to help protect the environment - we better do it," he said.4
Nationwide, it's estimated that biotech soybeans have saved almost 1 billion tons of soil that would have otherwise ended up in the nation's waterways or blown away.5 No-till and reduced-till farming practices - triggered in part by better weed control from biotech crops - also saved 234 million gallons of fuel in 2000 by reducing the number of tractor trips over fields.6
Working in the fields and walking on the riverbanks, Bardole sees the impact in smaller ways, in thrilling sights such as the appearance of wild mink on his farm for the first time in generations.
"We have wildlife on the farm today that my dad has never seen before, and he's over 90 years old," Bardole said.7
Like a rock tossed into the Raccoon, combining conservation tillage practices with biotech planting has a ripple effect on the environment, experts say. Nutrients stay in the soil, beneficial insects and earthworms thrive, and birds and mammals find more food and shelter.8
But Bardole sees other pluses as well. He notes that in 1991, his herbicide and related costs were $65 to $70 per acre. Today, those costs are less than $30 per acre.9 That confluence of economic and environmental benefits helps explain why in 2002, 75 percent of soybean acres were planted with biotech soybeans, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.10
Planting biotech has been a win-win for Bardole, who hopes to leave the farm, and the river running through it, in better shape than he found it for his two farmer sons.
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1 Henry, Lisa, "Raccoon River Watershed Project: A Partnership Process for Source Water Protection," River Voices, Fall 1996, p. 18.
2 "Biotech Soybeans Help Soil Quality, Industry Says," Reuters English News Service, February 22, 2002.
3 "Trends Link Biotech, Conservation Tillage," Conservation Technology Information Center, Purdue University, <www.ctic.purdue.edu>
4 Henry, Lisa, "Raccoon River Watershed Project: A Partnership Process for Source Water Protection," River Voices, Fall 1996, p. 21.
5 "Environmental Benefits of Conservation Tillage," Purdue University, Conservation Technology Information Center, <www.ctic.purdue.edu>
6 "ASA Study Confirms Environmental Benefits of Biotech Soybeans." American Soybean Association, Press release, November 12, 2001, <www.soygrowers.com>.
7 "Reduced Soil Erosion, Improved Water Quality are Benefits of Biotech," Dow Jones Commodities Service, February 25, 2002.
8 "Environmental Benefits of Conservation Tillage," Purdue University, Conservation Technology Information Center, <www.ctic.purdue.edu>
9 "Reduced Soil Erosion, Improved Water Quality are Benefits of Biotech," Dow Jones Commodities Service, February 25, 2002.
10 "Corn Planted Acreage Up 4 Percent from 2001; Soybean Acreage Down 2 Percent" National Agricultural Statistics Service, June 28, 2002, <usda.mannlib.cornell.edu>.
