News

A slight increase in biotech corn acres for Indiana

Planting of biotech corn varieties increased slightly in 2017.  According to state statistician Greg Matli, biotech varieties accounted for 87 percent of Indiana’s corn acres this year, up one percent from last year.  Farmers were surveyed on which types of biotech they used and 3 percent only used corn with a Bt trait, or insect resistant corn; 9 percent planted corn with herbicide resistant traits; and 75 percent planted stacked gene varieties. 

Ninety-two percent of soybean acres planted utilized biotechnology, unchanged from last year.   

Nationally, biotech varieties accounted for 92 percent of the corn acres planted, unchanged from 2016 and 94 percent of soybean acres, also unchanged from last year.