The USDA estimates that in 2001 in the US 63% of soybeans grown will be transgenic varieties, up from 54% last year; cotton, 64% will be transgenic, up from 61% last year; and corn, 24% will be transgenic, down from 25% last year.

That translates to about 48 million acres of transgenic soybeans, 10 million acres of transgenic cotton, and 18 million acres of transgenic corn. The soybean varieties resist the herbicide glyphosate sold under the brandname Roundup, enabling easier weed control compared to other herbicides or mechanical tillage. The cotton and corn resist insect pests or herbicides.