1.   Cotton is king, but the crop has proved a less than benevolent monarch for Roby these past four years.

2.   First commercialized several years ago, these genetically engineered crops are proving to be blockbusters.

3.   In general, Birch thinks that with careful tests of their potential effects, transgenic crops can prove safe and useful in reducing our dependence on pesticides.

4.   That last crop proved troublesome.

5.   Transgenic crops have proven tremendously popular with American farmers in recent years.

6.   Those crops have proved insufficient.

7.   Trading was also buoyed by reports of imminent buying by many countries, including Russia and Ukraine, where crops once again have proved disappointing.