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Lawson Mozley

Sixth Generation Farmer, Master’s Student, Agronomy, University of Florida

Expert Bio

Lawson Mozley is a sixth generation Florida farmer and rancher. His family has raised corn, cotton, soybeans, cattle, hay crops, wheat, and oats regularly with occasional specialty crops such as field peas and watermelons. His family has farmed the same land in the Florida Panhandle since the 1850s. Lawson grew up working on the farm, eventually starting a cattle herd and farming a portion of the family land himself, as well as managing the farm under his father’s experienced supervision. He earned his B.S. in Animal Sciences from the University of Florida in 2014 and is currently pursuing an M.S. in Agronomy, also at UF, with plans to eventually return to the family farm concurrently or after working in agricultural research/extension.

Studies, Articles and Answers

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Showing 9 out of 9 results

Question

Q: Which is cheaper GMO or organic

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Aug 28, 2015

A: Lawson Mozley, sixth generation Florida farmer, answers this question in the video below.   [...]

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Aug 28, 2015

A: Lawson Mozley, sixth generation Florida farmer, answers this question in the video below.   [...]

Health & Safety Other

Question

Q: Which is cheaper GMO or organic

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Aug 28, 2015

A: Lawson Mozley, sixth generation Florida farmer, answers this question in the video below.   [...]

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Aug 28, 2015

A: Lawson Mozley, sixth generation Florida farmer, answers this question in the video below.   [...]

Health & Safety Other

Question

Q: how quickly do gm crops grow

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Jan 23, 2015

A: Though many crops that farmers grow today grow faster than those that our ancestors grew, this is not due to genetic engineering or transgenic crops.  Transgenic crops that have so far been released grow at the same rate as any other variety developed within a similar timeframe.  While there are differences in growth rate, even within very similar genetic lines, this is entirely natural in its occurrence.  Plant breeders have been breeding more quickly maturing lines of corn, cotton, soybeans, peanuts and many fruit and vegetable varieties for years, long before even genetic map [...]

GMO Basics How GMOs Are Made

Question

Q: I currently stand alone in a high school human geography class, to say that Monsanto, Syngenta, DuPont, BASF, Cropsciences, Dow Agrisciences, and Bayer are, in fact, GOOD companies. However, theyre being a tough crowd. Is there anything you could say to y

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Aug 07, 2015

A: It’s a bit difficult to address your question because it’s unclear which characteristics of these companies seem less than desirable to your classmates. However, I’m a farmer and my goal is to produce crops and livestock in a manner that is both sustainable for the environment and cost effective and nutritious for the end consumer. I think that’s a good goal. In order to do that, I purchase products like seeds and pesticides from these companies and other agricultural companies. Any business could be evaluated as “good” or “bad,” based on a numb [...]

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Aug 07, 2015

A: It’s a bit difficult to address your question because it’s unclear which characteristics of these companies seem less than desirable to your classmates. However, I’m a farmer and my goal is to produce crops and livestock in a manner that is both sustainable for the environment and cost effective and nutritious for the end consumer. I think that’s a good goal. In order to do that, I purchase products like seeds and pesticides from these companies and other agricultural companies. Any business could be evaluated as “good” or “bad,” based on a numb [...]


Question

Q: I currently stand alone in a high school human geography class, to say that Monsanto, Syngenta, DuPont, BASF, Cropsciences, Dow Agrisciences, and Bayer are, in fact, GOOD companies. However, theyre being a tough crowd. Is there anything you could say to y

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Aug 07, 2015

A: It’s a bit difficult to address your question because it’s unclear which characteristics of these companies seem less than desirable to your classmates. However, I’m a farmer and my goal is to produce crops and livestock in a manner that is both sustainable for the environment and cost effective and nutritious for the end consumer. I think that’s a good goal. In order to do that, I purchase products like seeds and pesticides from these companies and other agricultural companies. Any business could be evaluated as “good” or “bad,” based on a numb [...]

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Aug 07, 2015

A: It’s a bit difficult to address your question because it’s unclear which characteristics of these companies seem less than desirable to your classmates. However, I’m a farmer and my goal is to produce crops and livestock in a manner that is both sustainable for the environment and cost effective and nutritious for the end consumer. I think that’s a good goal. In order to do that, I purchase products like seeds and pesticides from these companies and other agricultural companies. Any business could be evaluated as “good” or “bad,” based on a numb [...]


Question

Q: If GMOs are safe for consumption why do the people working with the crops wear hazmat suits?

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Sep 04, 2015

A: One of the most common images on the internet when you start researching chemical use on farms is of people in hazmat suits with backpack sprayers. This image has been compared to aliens exploring unknown planets, astronaut’s space suits, deepwater diving gear, and many other things that imply surviving a harsh environment.     The correct term for these suits are Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). For all chemicals used in any industry, from scientific research to manufacturing to agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has standards for wh [...]


Question

Q: I often hear it from the antiGMO crowd that farmers like to drench their GMO crops in Roundup. Why would farmers buy GMO seed if this means that in turn they need to spend more on pesticides?

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Sep 04, 2015

A: First, let’s talk about the uses for glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) on farms. The most common purpose is weed control. In fields that are planted with Roundup Ready crops, we can use Roundup to kill weeds without harming the crop. This allows us to use one herbicide to control almost all weeds that might be present in a field at the time when we spray.    Now, let’s talk about how we apply herbicides to fields. The term “drenched” has become a very common buzzword recently when talking about pesticide application, and is quite frank [...]

Business Practices GMOs & Farmers

Question

Q: What happens to the land after years of growing GMO products.

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Dec 11, 2015

A: There are two ways that I interpreted your question:   My first interpretation was that you are asking what happens to the land ecologically, agronomically, biologically, etc.  The second was what happens when a farmer decides to sell the land or use it for another purpose besides growing GMO crops.  Since both contexts are related, I’ll answer both and hope that I get to the real question that you intended.   First, growing GMOs has no negative impact on the land that a non-genetically engineered variety wouldn’t have.  In fact, traits such as Bt [...]

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Dec 11, 2015

A: There are two ways that I interpreted your question:   My first interpretation was that you are asking what happens to the land ecologically, agronomically, biologically, etc.  The second was what happens when a farmer decides to sell the land or use it for another purpose besides growing GMO crops.  Since both contexts are related, I’ll answer both and hope that I get to the real question that you intended.   First, growing GMOs has no negative impact on the land that a non-genetically engineered variety wouldn’t have.  In fact, traits such as Bt [...]

Environment Labeling

Question

Q: What happens to the land after years of growing GMO products.

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Dec 11, 2015

A: There are two ways that I interpreted your question:   My first interpretation was that you are asking what happens to the land ecologically, agronomically, biologically, etc.  The second was what happens when a farmer decides to sell the land or use it for another purpose besides growing GMO crops.  Since both contexts are related, I’ll answer both and hope that I get to the real question that you intended.   First, growing GMOs has no negative impact on the land that a non-genetically engineered variety wouldn’t have.  In fact, traits such as Bt [...]

Answered By Lawson Mozley - Dec 11, 2015

A: There are two ways that I interpreted your question:   My first interpretation was that you are asking what happens to the land ecologically, agronomically, biologically, etc.  The second was what happens when a farmer decides to sell the land or use it for another purpose besides growing GMO crops.  Since both contexts are related, I’ll answer both and hope that I get to the real question that you intended.   First, growing GMOs has no negative impact on the land that a non-genetically engineered variety wouldn’t have.  In fact, traits such as Bt [...]

Environment Labeling