Although they favor raising genetically-altered crops, they are mindful that there may be a consumer backlash come harvest time. That has executives at biotechnology firms worried. Although more than half the cropland in Nebraska was sown with the altered seeds this past growing season, researchers at the state's university were stunned at the results of a survey which showed that only 36 percent of farmers favored using the modified seeds this season. Now, seed company executives are worried about a shortage of conventional, unmodified seed.
Farmers tend to be big fans of biotechnology.
Before its arrival, they often had to cover their fields with pesticides so powerful they couldn't enter them for days afterward. But when the new seeds became available, pesticide sales in some localities dropped 20 percent.