Yoder Talks Biotechnology at Conference

June 5, 2002

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President-elect Fred Yoder provided a grower's perspective of biotechnology Tuesday at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) in Kansas City, calling the technology "an important asset" for the future of farming.

Yoder, a grower from Plain City, OH, said biotech planting showed 19% increase this past year. "Biotech crops accounted for 7% of the world's corn and the U.S. has led the charge by planting 68% of biotech crops globally. Worldwide, over five and a half million farmers are using biotech."

His presentation was one of three perspectives offered: a developer's perspective, presented by Roger Untiedt, Minnesota Corn Processors; a grower's perspective, presented by Yoder; and a food processor's perspective, presented by Susan Harlander, BIOrational Consultants, Inc.

Yoder provided an overview of biotechnology, from its availability for commercial use in 1996 to the problems with StarLink last year. "StarLink was never a food safety issue," he said. "It was a regulatory issue. It created a negative image for biotech corn that certain activists seized on.

"Biotech can and will be an important asset to us in the future," Yoder continued. "It will help us conserve soil and water, it can provide a very selective insect control without destroying beneficial insects, it can provide a better-quality product to our customers and, most importantly, it has the capacity to help feed a hungry world, which may grow to 10 billion people by 2050."

Yoder also explained NCGA's goals and objectives concerning biotech. "We must minimize trade distortions related to the technology," he said. "Consumers in the European Union (EU) have some concerns about biotech food products. We have a group of representatives from the U.S. Grains Council and the NCGA in Europe this week meeting with EU agriculture regulators and producers to discuss biotech issues.

"We are also expanding our 'Know Before You Grow' program and getting the facts out there to our growers to answer any questions they may have," he said.

The CUTC is co-hosted every other year by the NCGA and the Corn Refiners Association (CRA).