Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops let farmers produce more by enhancing the effectiveness of herbicides. Crops were created that could withstand the chemicals so that spraying would efficiently kill the weeds and only the weeds. Well, just as antibiotics are running into more and more resistant bacteria, herbicides too are starting to meet their match, as "superweeds" show up that can tolerate being sprayed. An example given in this article is pigweed, which can grow up to 3 inches a day and is strong enough to damage farm equipment.
It used to be that one reason farmers plowed in the spring was to plow under the weeds that had grown up on land over the winter and in early spring. Plowing cleared the land and made it ready for the new crop to be planted. Recently, no-till planting techniques have come into vogue, which involve not plowing to start the season but just killing all of the weeds with herbicides and then injecting seeds into the soil using special equipment. This cuts erosion and saves the energy required for plowing. (Some also say that it fights climate change by storing carbon, but some of my research shows those benefits are minimal.) If herbicides don't work as well, it's back to the plow. That is more expensive for farmers, and food prices might rise. It also might increase soil erosion. More fuel use, but less herbicide application: guess that's the short-term outlook, at least!
