In Sao Paulo, Brazil, Celeres reports that the area sown with transgenic varieties in the 2011/12 harvest will be 20.9 percent greater than in the last harvest. According to the forecast in the specialized consultation on agricultural economics, crops with transgenic soybeans, corn and cotton should add up to 31.8-million hectares during this cycle – a new record for the adoption of biotechnology in Brazilian agriculture. Earlier Celeres forecast that only 30.5-million hectares of transgenic varieties would be grown.

The survey credits the increase to the recent favorable outlook during the period between deciding what to plant and the start of planting. Anderson Galvao, managing partner of Celeres and coordinator of the study, says – soybeans account for the greater portion of this area with 21.4-million hectares cultivated, an increase of 16.7 percent over the previous harvest.

Presently, 67.3 percent of the total area planted with corn in Brazil is occupied by GM hybrids. That would be a total of 9.9-million hectares – an increase of 32 percent over the 2010/11 period. The area with GM cotton will also be greater, and should come to 469-thousand hectares, an increase of 32.2 percent over the previous harvest.

Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow says Congress must complete a Farm Bill next year before the current Farm Bill expires in order to provide certainty for farmers and small businesses. The ag Committee Chair promised – we will resume holding hearings when Congress returns in January. The goal is to complete an initial product in the spring to provide plenty of time for Congress to complete its work. She believes 12 public meetings and the bipartisan framework developed by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees this year will serve as a strong foundation moving forward.

Stabenow said she will continue focusing on principles, not programs, as the Committee continues its work with Members on both sides of the aisle to develop a sound Farm Bill proposal. She said her focus is continuing to meet and discuss with farmers and other agriculture stakeholders what’s working and what isn’t to develop policies that strengthens American agriculture and ensures an abundant and safe food supply while continuing to offer proposals to increase accountability and reduce the deficit.