Bayer Signs on to Distribute Enlist E3 Technology, Works toward Launch of HT4 Soybeans
Bayer officials hope their agreement with MS Technologies to distribute soybeans containing the Enlist E3 trait, which was announced earlier this week, will give farmers a leg up against tough weeds in 2023.
“These Enlist E3 soybean products will be sold in new brands, exclusively distributed by Bayer, which will be launched in the U.S. later this spring, in a wide range of maturities that are adapted across most of the soybean growing areas in the U.S.,” says Wes Hays, Bayer U.S. soybean portfolio lead.
Bayer’s partnership with MS Technologies is “solely a distribution agreement,” Hays told Farm Journal in an emailed response to questions on Friday.
Soybeans sold with the Enlist E3 trait will offer tolerance to glufosinate, 2,4-D choline, and glyphosate herbicides, as well as “high-yielding elite genetics,” according to Joseph Merschman, president of MS Technologies.
MS Technologies, based in West Point, Iowa, is a trait, technology and soybean genetics provider and works through collaborative, marketing agreements with other companies frequently. The Enlist E3 technology was developed in partnership between MS Technologies and what was originally Dow Agrosciences, now Corteva Agriscience.
Enlist E3 soybeans are part of the Enlist weed-control system which includes Enlist herbicides, Enlist Ahead, Enlist cotton and Enlist corn.
Focused On The Future
While Hays says Bayer is committed to giving its customers “more choices and additional tools for integrated weed management” through Enlist E3 soybeans, the company remains committed to its Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System and XtendFlex soybeans.
“(They) will continue to be the cornerstone of our soybeans portfolio for years to come as we continue to bring innovation within the soybean market,” he says. “Enlist E3 soybeans, through this distribution agreement, will be a complementary product offering through our existing distribution channels.”
Bayer expects to extend its soybean technology pipeline in the latter part of the decade with the launch of HT4 soybeans, which will give farmers additional herbicide active-ingredient options for weed control.
“These include new traits comprising five and six sites of action for herbicide tolerance, including proprietary traits conferring 2,4-D and HPPD tolerance,” Hays says. “These new traits will be paired with Bayer’s leading germplasm portfolio, as well as other new innovations, which are poised to benefit soybean farmers in the years ahead.”
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