Urbandale Ia, (but originally from SE IA) | Volatility and drift are not the only reason some coops and custom applicators are holding back on the dicamba products. Clean out/tank contamination issues are a big concern too, not wanting to switch back & forth for the different products, time consuming to rinse, clean, flush, repeat. I've attended a field day with goof-up plots to show what tank contamination can do to a field of beans. A mere 5 gallons of rinsate not completely flushed out of 1600 gallon tank can screw up a lot of acres of soybeans.
I presume that all could change if in a few years there is a shift to the point where the majority of the beans are X-tend and experience with the new less volatile products (are they really better that way). The other thing is the spray adjuvants, water conditioning products. Can't use AMS based with the new dicamba products. How are they going to work as far as efficacy and sprayability? I know of a few cases where samples were given for evaluation (of the adjuvant, sprayed with currently available herbicides) and applicators were not pleased with mixing, spray pattern, etc.
So, all of the above could be why coops would be hesitant to just jump on board the X-tend train. If there is a problem, we all know who is going to get the first call and all of the blame!
As far as the seed, I think it's all a bunch of marketing hype. On a personal opinion, I think it is a shame that once again Monsanto is cramming something down the throat of the entire seed industry. (One again, that is just MY personal opinion) Seems almost like there is some kind of conspiracy theory behind how they get stuff through for approval while Dow keeps getting roadblocks for Enlist. Not to mention how Syngenta ended up in their fiasco, etc, etc. Nobody seems to be holding Monsanto's feet to the fire for the Glyphosate resistance problem that they were a part of creating, even if indirectly. OK, we'll just hop on board with the new flavor of Kool-Aid....
I admire the non GMO folks, both farmers and seed companies that are finding a way to make that work! |
Dicamba vs Liberty soybeans
