On Dec 1, 2012, at 11:26 PM, David Inouye wrote: > http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/11/29/166156242/cornstalks-everywhere-but-nothing-else-not-even-a-bee > > An interesting comparison of the biodiversity found in one cubic foot > of some different habitats. An Iowa cornfield came out pretty poorly > by comparison with some natural habitats elsewhere in the world.
Crop Consutant Carl W made this comment about the article: "it seems quite wild to compare the biodiversity of a corn field with that of natural environments. I mean this project could of been done any ag system, organic or not, now or 100 years before... the biodiversity of any farming system, by design is going to reduce biodiversity compared to natural ecosystems." The article also lamented the lack of bees in the middle of the Iowa cornfield. But the article did not mention that margins of the GMO corn and soybean fields in fields in the upper Midwest are actually teaming with nectar feeding bumblebees, honeybees, butterflies and beetles. Here's a 9 minute video I shot last August in a region of south-central Minnesota (near Fairfax & Gibbon, Minnesota) that had extremely intense monocultures of GMO corn and soybeans that were grown from neonicotinoid systemic insecticide treated seed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTJZFJ1egGQ The article also lamented the lack of many ants in the middle of the Iowa cornfield. But farmers routinely rotate corn with soybeans and when the soybeans are grown ants can become abundant as the owners of the Hefty Seed Company based in southeastern South Dakota explain in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXqp7UXf5xs There can also be plenty of earthworms in upper midwestern corn fields too despite the pesticide use: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a13QsgMj4h4 Paul Cherubini El Dorado, Calif.
