Two decades after the first GMO crops were approved for cultivation, nearly half of U.S. cropland is planted with genetically engineered seeds, chiefly corn, soybeans and cotton. Farmers have greeted GE canola and sugarbeets with ardor, but alfalfa is the wallflower at the GMO party, says a USDA report.
GMO varieties account for a comparatively small 13 percent of alfalfa land while most GE crops quickly capture 90 percent or more of plantings, say three USDA economists. Used in livestock rations, especially for dairy cattle, alfalfa is the fourth-most widely grown crop in the country, behind corn, soybeans and wheat, and ranks fourth in crop value. Alfalfa was the first widely grown GE perennial crop.
It is not clear if GE alfalfa offers higher yields than conventional varieties because of the multitude of factors in play — weather, soils, precipitation, pest damage and fertilizer usage. As well, there are hundreds of varieties of alfalfa. “Comparisons suggest that yields tend to be higher on fields where farmers have planted GE seeds, (but) they do not demonstrate that these increases were caused by GE varieties,” write the USDA economists.
In a 2010 environmental impact statement, USDA said GE alfalfa increased forage quality and reduced herbicide costs. USDA first approved GE alfalfa in June 2005, but court challenges barred plantings from 2007 until the GMO version was fully deregulated in February 2011.
Because alfalfa is a perennial, farmers plant a small portion, about 14 percent, of their land each year. Roughly one-third of alfalfa seedings in 2013, the most recent year covered by the report, were GE varieties. “Adoption rates … appear to be increasing quickly but it is unclear if this trend will continue,” said the report.
By contrast, 93 percent of canola and 98 percent of sugarbeets were GE varieties in 2013, similar to the 90 percent of corn, 93 percent of soybeans and 90 percent of cotton. Like alfalfa, GMO sugarbeets were the subject of litigation that delayed commercial plantings for several years. There was little U.S. dispute over canola. Canada was the first nation to approve GMO canola, in 1996.
Seed companies are working on new GE varieties of corn, soybeans, cotton, alfalfa, canola, sugarbeets, wheat, sorghum, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes “and many other grains, fruits and vegetables,” said the report. “If this trend continues, it seems likely that many crops will eventually be produced using seeds that have been genetically engineered.”
Earlier this year, USDA said the risk of cross-contamination of organic and non-GMO crops could rise as a wider range of GE crops are approved. At present, there are few competing GMO and non-GMO crops grown near each other. Organic agriculture is concentrated on fruit and vegetable production.