If they want to continue to use Bt corn, growers need to do a better job of following the rules laid down last year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Nearly 30 percent of farmers who grew biotech corn last year violated planting restrictions designed to keep insects from becoming resistant to the crop. These rules require planting conventional varieties on at least 20 percent of your corn acreage within a half mile of biotech crops.

Results of the first annual compliance study done by the biotech industry indicate more than 90 percent of the growers felt they had followed the rules. Yet more than 40 percent of the farmers didn’t know the required size of the conventional corn acreage and 60 percent didn’t understand how close it had to be grown to the biotech corn.

Now that the biotech companies have analyzed the survey data, look for increased emphasis on educational efforts with growers regarding proper production of Bt corn.

OTHER NO-TILL NEWS...

• Agriliance has introduced its own glyphosate product called Cornerstone. It has no restrictions for use with adjuvants or drift control agents and is labeled for use on Roundup Ready corn, soybeans and cotton.
• Weeds were treated with Extreme herbicide on more than 1 million acres of Roundup Ready soybeans last year. BASF officials say growers were satisfied with this herbicide that combines glyphosate and the proven residual herbicide Pursuit for season-long weed control in no-tilled soybeans.
• Recent results from the National Corn Yield Contest managed by…