In sci.agriculture Jim Webster wrote:

"Brian Sandle" wrote in message
...

Linkname: AGNET AUGUST 27
URL: http://131.104.232.9/agnet/2002/8-20..._august_27.htm
Last Mod: Thu, 29 Aug 2002 11:38:17 GMT
size: 1169 lines


[...]
US FARMERS REAP HEAVY PENALTY FOR SOWING GM CROPS
August 27, 2002
New Zealand Herald
[...]
GM crops have, says
Hatchard, had a disastrous impact on United States farm economies.
[...]
All around, the US food industry has lost billions of dollars in
exports
since introducing GM crops.
US maize prices are at their lowest for 30 years - down from US$3
($6.43) to
$1.30 ($2.79) a bushel.
In 1996, before GM crops were introduced, US maize farmers made a
profit of
US$1.4 billion.
Last year, they lost US$12 billion. The US Government picked up a
third of
this through farm subsidies. Our Government could never afford to
protect
farmers this way.

note that UK farm profitability matches the US figures except we don't have
GM

You have a related problem - another unnatural agricultural procedure that
was warned about: feeding meat to cattle, causing spread of BSE.

the article is so grossly simplistic as to be fatuous

Such statements as we often see from the agbiotech sector, that we have to
get up production to feed the world are rather stupid. There are surpluses
aren't there? Work is what is needed, and the chance to learn about
nature. It is a very tough way of having farmers learn about nature by
having them coping with giving their allegiance to herbicide tolerant
crops for more profit but finding that they have to spend a whole lot more
since the weeds have become tolerant.

If new herbicides are developed the same thing will happen again and the
farmers will go under further.

The FAO is pushing non-GM for the developing countries. Now I see some
farmers in UK are working like third world farmers for very low hourly
rates.