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Scientists: Bt corn benefits non-Bt growers

Insect killing Bt corn provides benefits to growers as well as to their neighbors who grow non-Bt corn. That’s according to a report from a group of agriculture scientists in the journal Science. The genetically modified Bt corn produces proteins from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis that kill European corn borer larvae.

The researchers estimate that from 1996-2009, farmers in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin realized nearly $7 billion in benefits from Bt corn, with more than $4 billion of that benefiting non-Bt corn farmers, according to a news release issued by the USDA. The scientists estimate that in some of those states, borer populations in adjacent non-Bt fields declined by 28 to 73 percent. 

The team’s report also highlights the importance of refuge crops, non-Bt crops planted adjacent to Bt crops, providing a refuge for borers. That slows the pest’s ability to develop resistance to Bt and maintains its effectiveness.

Bt corn debuted in 1996, and by 2009 was planted on nearly 63 percent of the total U.S. corn crop.