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Bayer stays committed to agriculture and R & D

david-hollinrake

David Hollinrake, Vice President of Marketing for Bayer CropScience North America tells Brownfield that as farmers have had to tighten belts in these tough economic times, so has his company.  As a matter of fact, Hollinrake said Bayer CropScience has its belt tightened fairly significantly, but not so much as to risk innovation.

Bayer CropsCience has not changed its focus on research and development.

As Hollinrake explains, because it takes 10 – 11 years and an investment of about 250 million dollars to introduce a new product, if Bayer stopped investing in R & D during cyclical downturns in the ag economy, they would be challenged to bring innovation to farmers.  Over the course of the past 10 years, Bayer has introduced 30 new products and Hollinrake tells Brownfield about 25 are in the pipeline to be released in the next 10 years.

“If we are going to feed a growing, hungry population 15, 20 or 30 years from now we have got to fuel additional yield enhancements and that is what we are focused on,” he said.

Hollinrake offered examples of successful R & D investment by talking about 3 products:

Introduced last year, Alevo, a first of its kind seed treatment for soybeans that controls sudden death syndrome (SDS.)  Hollinrake pointed out there are  many fields across Iowa that are currently suffering from this disease.

For next year, Bayer is introducing a new herbicide for corn called DiFlexx Duo.  It combines DiFlexx which is safe in Dicamba with another active ingredient farmers use today: Laudis.  Hollinrake tells Brownfield the important things is that it combines 2 effective modes of action on difficult to control or glyphosate resistant weeds.

Another product in the pipeline that Hollinrake tells Brownfield they hope to have on the market by the end of next year is Poncho/VOTiVO2.0.  The new seed treatment unlocks the potential of the corn allowing it to more effectively take up nutrients. This product, said Hollinrake, adds an additional 4 bushels of yield per acre to the corn crop.

As committed as Bayer CropScience is to innovation, Hollinrake says his company is also committed to advocating for agriculture.

“Farmers are the most trusted voice in food production, so activating the farmers’ voice by giving them materials to allow them to effectively communicate. . .is really, really critical to our sustainability as an industry.”

To learn how you can use your voice to advocate for agriculture, Hollinrake asks that you reach out to your Bayer CropScience representative.

Audio:  Conversation with David Hollinrake at 2016 Farm Progress Show.

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