<b>By LINDA McGURK<br>
Indiana Correspondent</b> </p><p>

COVINGTON, Ind. — Higher expectations of corn and soybean production are leading growers to put more emphasis on protecting their investments, said Kevin Steffey, a University of Illinois extension entomologist, during a Dec. 4 Bi-State Ag Group crop seminar in Covington, Ind.</p><p>
“Three quarters of the corn planted in the U.S. is transgenic corn,” he said. “If Bt corn wasn’t working, farmers wouldn’t adapt to the technology so quickly.”</p><p>
Steffey noted that reduced insecticide use, outstanding yields and an “insurance” against crop losses, which gives growers peace of mind, are some of the advantages of Bt corn. In addition, data indicate the widespread planting of Bt corn has led to a dramatic drop in European Corn Borer (ECB) numbers. The data has been collected since the 1940s, and shows that until the mid-1990s, when Bt corn was first introduced, the ECB population averaged 123 insects per 100 plants.</p><p>
After the mid-1990s, the average population dropped dramatically, to 48 insects per 100 plants, and 2007 marked the lowest ECB population on record: 0.1 per 100 plants.</p><p>
“I tease people and say that the corn borer is becoming an endangered species. I wonder what the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is going to do about that,” Steffey joked.</p><p>
But despite the opportunities offered by transgenic corn and the fact that it has effectively curbed ECB populations, he said the threat of insect resistance is real, particularly among corn rootworm populations. “Rootworms have become resistant to whatever we’ve thrown their way,” he said.</p><p>
Steffey noted some growers deliberately fail to comply with EPA regulations that require 20 percent non-Bt corn refuges to be planted in the same field as or adjacent to Bt corn. Whether it’s due to inconvenience or an attempt to maximize yields, he cautioned that breaking the rules can backfire in more than one way.</p><p>
If a grower is found to be in noncompliance, not only he, but also his neighbors, may get cut off from purchasing Bt seed, and resistant insect populations can spread rapidly from one farm to the next.</p><p>
Advances in transgenic corn research could reduce the potential for development of insect resistance, said Steffey, referring to the SmartStax technology that’s been developed by Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences. SmartStax combines eight different herbicide-tolerance and insect-protection genes in one seed and could be available to United States farmers by the end of the decade, pending regulatory approval. If the companies get their way, SmartStax hybrids could also spell some changes to the refuge requirement.</p><p>
“The word on the street is that Monsanto and Dow are working on the EPA to get the refuge requirement down to 5 percent or none,” Steffey said.