Main has been the only state in the U.S. that doesn’t permit the planting of Bt corn, but that might be about to change. The state’s Board of Pesticide Control licensed the genetically engineered corn this past summer and recently held a public hearing on proposed rules regulating its use in the state. Bt corn could be used for the first time in Maine as soon as 2008.

Shots are being fired in what could conceivably grow into a battle between no-tillers and organic farmers for federal funding and consumer food dollars. Both sides are claiming the high ground for their path to sustainable, profitable farming, and no-tillers aren’t backing down as organic farming advocates gain a foothold with the general population and even an occasional researcher.