September 11, 2002 -- Thirty percent of Ontario's soybean acreage was planted to
herbicide-tolerant seed in 2001, according to a survey of 352 Ontario
soybean growers by the
George Morris Centre. It's estimated that herbicide-tolerant soybeans
will represent 40 to 45 percent of
2002 soybean acreage.

"Our study also found a positive correlation between size of operation and
the adoption of herbicide-tolerany seed and no-till practices," says
Cher Brethour, lead
researcher for the George Morris Centre. "Larger farm operations with gross
farm income of more than $200,000 tend to use more herbicide-tolerant
soybeans, use better
conservation tillage practices and leave more crop residue on the land."

The leaders of the Chatham-based Ontario Soybean Growers have tracked
similar statistics. "The study clearly shows that glyphosate-tolerant
soybeans are an important tool for farmers who have adopted environmentally
friendly no-till production practices," says Liam McCreery, chairperson
of Ontario
Soybean Growers. "With no-till production, farmers are burning less fuel.
That reduces carbon dioxide emissions into the air. At the same time, soil
quality is improved because there is less soil erosion. No-till also saves
the farmer time during the busy planting season and saves money on fuel and
through less wear and tear on equipment. It's clearly a win-win situation
for the farmer and the environment."

The George Morris Centre report - authored by Brethour along with Al
Mussell, Holly Mayer and
Larry Martin - concludes that the 2002 U.S. farm bill will
continue to pressure Ontario soybean growers on competitive market prices.

The complete report is available at href="http://www.georgemorris.org">www.georgemorris.org. The study was
commissioned by the Council for Biotechnology Information.