Torsten Brinch wrote:
On 18 Aug 2003 22:44:13 GMT, Brian Sandle
wrote:
[quoting:]
These reports from farmers and seed dealers can easily be dismissed as
anecdotal evidence from which no conclusions can be drawn.

Indeed. And that will remain the case unless anecdotes are followed up
by scientific studies of the matter.

E.g. Shawn S. Donkin, Ph.D. Animal Sciences Department, Purdue
University, fed corn/cornsilage to 16 dairy cows. 8 cows were fed
from Bt corn, and 8 from a near isogenic line of non Bt corn.

Average dry matter intake was 52.7 and 55.9 lb/d, for Bt and non-Bt
respectivley (SE=1.12, p=0.06), average milk yield was 84.2 and 86.9
lb/d, (SE=1.20, p=0.15). Curiously the author concludes that his
results show no differences.

http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/forag...y_fed_spec.htm

p=0.15 means that there is 15% chance that the result is spurious.

This is really a non-experiment on purpose I would say. The number
of subjects has been kept down to 8 pairs so it is really impossible
to get the p=0.05 needed to conventionally say you have
significance. Once you have set up the experiment I think that would
be the major cost and going to 16 pairs would have allowed the
required significance and not cost much more.