Editor's Pick 2015: Best of Charts of Note

This chart gallery is a collection of the best Charts of Note from 2015. These charts were selected by ERS editors as those worthy of a second read because they provide context for the year’s headlines or share key insights from ERS research.

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Editor's Pick 2015, #6:
Genetically engineered seeds planted on over 90 percent of U.S. corn, cotton, and soybean acres

Editor's Pick 2015, #6:<br>Genetically engineered seeds planted on over 90 percent of U.S. corn, cotton, and soybean acres

Thursday, December 17, 2015

U.S. farmers have adopted genetically engineered (GE) seeds in the 20 years since their commercial introduction, despite their typically higher prices. Herbicide-tolerant (HT) crops, developed to survive the application of specific herbicides that previously would have destroyed the crop along with the targeted weeds, provide farmers with a broader variety of options for weed control. Insect-resistant crops (Bt) contain a gene from the soil bacterium?Bacillus thuringiensis?that produces a protein toxic to specific insects, protecting the plant over its entire life. "Stacked" seed varieties carry both HT and Bt traits, and now account for a large majority of GE corn and cotton seeds. In 2015, adoption of GE varieties, including those with herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, or stacked traits, accounted for 94 percent of cotton acreage, 94 percent of soybean acreage (soybeans have only HT varieties), and 92 percent of corn acreage planted in the United States. This chart is found in the ERS data product, Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S., updated July 2015.