Trials begin this spring for drought-tolerant corn varieties from Monsanto that were approved recently by the USDA, although some experts are skeptical of the technology's potential benefits.

Federal monitors said this week they have found more evidence that Monsanto's genetically engineered corn is failing to kill the insects it is designed to repel.

Monsanto Co. isn't doing enough to monitor for signs that widely grown corn plants that the company genetically modified to thwart a bug are falling prey to that insect again, Environmental Protection Agency scientists said.

Monsanto Company announced it is taking steps to ensure best management practices are implemented for fields that were planted with the company's single-mode-of-action corn hybrids that contain western corn rootworm protection and that were affected by significant corn rootworm pressure during the 2011 season.

Glyphosate herbicide was found in significant levels in Mississippi as part of a U.S. Geological Survey Office (USGS) project, and the findings have been submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency to be used as part of the agency's evaluation of the registration of glyphosate.