WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER PRODUCTS
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hen the first herbicideresistant wild oats were found in Manitoba close to 50 years ago, the news was received in western farming circles with just mild alarm. “We’ve come a long way since then and it’s good to see the entire industry coming together to help manage the risk of herbicide resistance development” says Jon Weinmaster, Crop and Campaign Marketing Manager, Cereals with Bayer. The specifics vary by region in terms of key weeds and herbicide Group resistance, but the solutions are almost always the same: maintain a diverse crop rotation; promote crop competition with weeds; rotate herbicide Groups; use herbicide tank mixes that contain different herbicide Groups; scout often; keep good records; till strategically; and manage weed escape patches to keep them from going to seed. The most recent strategy to join this list is early weed removal. On the surface, it seems like a logical plan to take weeds out as early as possible to protect yield. But growers know it's not always that simple.
LESSONS FROM THE U.S. The fact is that weed control is way more complicated than it was 10 years ago. “Growers in Canada are getting very good at understanding their weed spectrum and realizing any resistance problems that currently exist, or have the potential to develop,” says Weinmaster, “by working together as an industry we will all continue to get better at managing the risk of herbicide resistance development.” It’s better here than in some areas of the world where herbicide resistance
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has become such a critical problem that growers are making crop choices based on what they can grow, not what they’d like to grow. “There are areas in the Southern U.S. where growers have run out of herbicide options,” says Weinmaster. “And it’s not uncommon for growers there to hire people to hand weed fields, at an enormous cost.” Growers are encouraged to protect the herbicide tools they have by not overusing them and short crop rotations make this difficult. However, the economic imperatives of growing high-paying crops in short rotation are very real, and farming economics are tough — growers know they need to make money when they can. With what we’ve seen in the Southern U.S. we also know the realities of not being able to grow a crop at all if the weeds can’t be controlled, says Weinmaster. “The financial impact can’t be ignored,” he explains. “It’s really easy to think you’re okay, that you’ve got a handle on it, until you don’t. There is a great video on Mixitup.ca of Ford Baldwin, a U.S. grower discussing the need for increased herbicide and crop diversity. It’s a good reminder for us here in Canada.”
THERE ARE SOLUTIONS “We take herbicide resistance very seriously at Bayer,” says Weinmaster. “We want to make sure our customers have the tools they need and continue to be profitable while keeping herbicide resistance at bay.” On the early weed removal front, Olympus™, Velocity m3, Luxxur® and Varro®
herbicides are great options for wheat, says Weinmaster. “We know that early weed control, both early at the weed stage and early at the crop stage, is a good practice. “Still, we recognize that most in-crop herbicides available in Western Canada only control emerged weeds, so there needs to be a balance between spraying as early as possible but also having as many weeds emerged as possible." This is a big part of why two-pass weed control is becoming more popular and more economical. New Olympus herbicide from Bayer is part of a two-pass system approach. It's applied pre-plant or preemerge followed by Varro or Velocity herbicide in-crop, providing flushing control of foxtail barley and best in-class wild oat control. The new lineup of Bayer herbicide products offers growers a lot of combinations and permutations for effective herbicide tank mixes where more than one mode of action is applied in a single operation. “It keeps weeds on their toes,” says Weinmaster. And with Roundup® and Roundup Xtend® now in the portfolio, growers have some new preseed and post-harvest options to use with Bayer's strong in-crop herbicide products. “We’re here to help,” says Weinmaster. “I encourage people to think about practicing early weed removal this year, and also to visit Mixitup.ca to learn more about herbicide resistance and how it’s being managed in North America. And if they have any questions, or want advice on devising an integrated weed management (IWM) plan for their farm, our field staff are always ready to help.”
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
The new realities of weed management
WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER PRODUCTS
Does it pay to spray? Yes!
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o you approach fungicide season wondering whether or not you should spray? If so, you’re not alone. The question of return on investment (ROI) on fungicide use is a perennial one and Bayer is here to help with eleven years of real-life, in-field, grower-cooperator trial data that you can use to make spraying decisions. Visit ItPaysToSpray.ca to view Bayer fungicide demonstration strip trial (DST) results collected since 2008, involving seven different crops in almost all areas across Western Canada. You can refine your search by crop and location. Want to see how applications of Prosaro® XTR fungicide increased wheat yields in central Alberta or how Delaro® fungicide performed against the competition in pulses? Use the interactive map on ItPaysToSpray.ca to find this information and more, or download the 2018 Trial Results Booklet. There are 407 field-scale, side-by-side replicated trials that include an untreated check for accurate ROI comparisons between using and not using a fungicide. The numbers tell the tale — a fungicide application consistently maximizes crop quality and yield, and in all but the most extreme low disease situations it provides a return on investment.
BACKED BY PEOPLE Our team of market development agronomists work alongside growers to develop and monitor fungicide DST trials. These grower-cooperated trials ensure the correct application and timeliness of fungicide products. We also can assess disease levels pre- and post-application
and monitor results, from seeding to harvest. The result is a wealth of local knowledge shared by Bayer that’s especially helpful if you have questions about whether a fungicide application is right for your farm and how to use it for best results.
So if you’re still asking yourself if you should use a fungicide this year, let us help you with some real-time data. Consult your local retail, Bayer representative or visit ItPaysToSpray.ca.
Everything you need to know about the 2019 BayerValue Program The 2019 BayerValue™ program is back and bigger than ever. With new seed trait technologies, more ways to qualify and the largest selection of participating products, you’ve never seen a BayerValue program like this. Now it’s even easier to save on the technologies and innovations you’ve come to trust with the savings you want. With new qualifiers like TruFlex™ canola with Roundup Ready® Technology and Acceleron® BioAg™, Western Canadian growers can save up to 18% on their favourite Bayer products.
Learn how to maximize your savings at cropscience.bayer.ca/BayerValue or by contacting your local retail.
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See the bigger picture with Climate FieldView Climate FieldView™ is your data partner supporting the decisions you make all season long
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magine capturing, recording and storing all of your field data in one central place and being able to access it from any device. Well, the technology exists in the Climate FieldView™ platform from Bayer. Currently available in Canada, the U.S., Brazil and Europe, Climate FieldView is a widely adopted digital agriculture platform that allows growers to analyze and visualize multiple layers of data all in one place. Growers can then use the data they’ve collected to optimize their key decisions, making operations more efficient and manageable either in-season or in preparation for next season. The platform also enables growers to share appropriate information with trusted
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partners — agronomists, retailers or other business partners — to further enhance the decision making process. Denise Hockaday, head of Climate FieldView explains, “Collecting and using field data for future planning and inseason decision making is not a new idea. Generations of growers have kept field notes in notebooks, spreadsheets, binders and other formats. “That said, it wasn’t the most efficient system and it definitely didn’t let you see the bigger picture. With Climate FieldView you can bring all of your field data together in one place and in a digitized format giving you the ability to have it right in front of you when you’re making your most important decisions, wherever you are.”
HOW DOES CLIMATE FIELDVIEW WORK? With FieldView, it’s easy to get real-time data and historical data into your account. ClimateFieldView.ca allows you to bring in your historical field data while the FieldView™ Drive paired with the FieldView™ Cab app allows you to live stream your field data from your equipment to your iPad using bluetooth, so you can keep a detailed record of whatever pass you’re making in the field. See your field maps build in real time and begin to see them from anywhere using the FieldView app on your Apple or android device. You can choose to share your operation, farm, or individual fields with or without yield data with business partners and agronomic advisors.
WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER PRODUCTS
“This platform is designed around our vision to provide growers with personalized insights powered by data science through an easy-to-use, integrated platform that seamlessly combines their on-farm data with additional data we collect from the soil, field and atmosphere and ultimately, empowers more informed decision making.” “Growers using the platform today, love being able to have a bird’s eye view of the entire operation and see how fields are progressing or alert them to potential issues. Furthermore, by sharing their information with others, they can respond quickly and appropriately to any changes in season. The software is very intuitive and easy to navigate,” adds Hockaday.
LET YOUR DATA DRIVE YOU From planning in the winter to harvest in the fall, Climate FieldView helps you make more informed decisions all year long. • Satellite imagery and scouting Field health imagery can help you identify and address potential issues before they impact yield with in-season and historical field imagery. Use scouting maps to spot potential issues within a field and identify the areas of highest and lowest biomass. Vegetation maps feature advanced colour mapping to understand the level of crop growth across your operation and prioritize which fields to scout or harvest first. Drop field pins and create regions to make note of and monitor potential pests, disease, and field issues, and share them with your trusted partners.
The FieldView™ Drive is an in-cab hardware device that plugs into your equipment’s CAN diagnostic port, capturing both machine and field data. It connects your equipment to your iPad via Bluetooth, monitoring and displaying your data as you pass through your fields.
product and field performance in your operation so you can make the best decisions for next season. Identify a region on your field map to generate a field region report and use this information to determine the impact on yield such as population, seed product, speed, planting date, seed treatment, and elevation.
• Trials Map and track your seed and crop protection products as you perform your trials to fine tune the efficiency of your operation. Design, conduct and manage your own field trials using historical field data to maximize your yield potential and profitability.
• Prescriptions FieldView allows you to create your own seeding or fertility prescriptions. Use multiple data layers to easily create customized seeding or fertility rate prescriptions prescriptions with manual scripting. Advanced scripting uses your historical field data combined with proprietary field testing results, to generate corn population planting scripts tailored to your unique yield or profitability goals. All scripts are fully customizable and have shown a 2.5 bu./ac. increase compared to growers who planted the same population across their fields.*
• Yield analysis tool Use yield analysis features to compare
• Field level weather Plan more efficiently with field level daily
weather reports in the app or sent directly to your inbox to decide which fields are workable based on precipitation and wind speed. Keep an eye on changing conditions with hourly precipitation updates and monitor your fields with historical and season-to-date amounts.
GET THE MOST OUT OF EVERY ACRE With Climate FieldView the possibilities are seemingly endless. Not only does it simplify your field data management, it makes it easier to track field and product performance either in your office or directly on your mobile device so you can fine-tune your practices to further increase your profitability. * Based on 14 trials performed in Canada in 2018.
To find out more about FieldView, talk to your local Bayer representative, FieldView dealer, or visit www.climatefieldview.ca .
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Early disease control is key for winter wheat
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inter wheat is a popular crop across all wheat growing regions of Canada, but in Ontario, winter wheat is grown on more acres than any other cereal crop. Indeed, according to Ontario Ministry of Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), acres seeded to winter wheat in 2018 more than doubled the acres seeded to all other cereal crops combined. One reason is that winter wheat has proven itself to be an excellent rotational partner in soybean production systems. Long-term rotation studies conducted by OMAFRA have borne out what many growers already know — that including winter wheat in the rotation can help maximize soybean yields. That doesn’t mean winter wheat is just a means to an end. Good agronomics, from seeding practices to weed and disease control, will ensure that winter wheat achieves the highest yields it’s capable of and the grain quality you need to maximize your return on investment. And that starts with early disease and weed control. “Winter wheat is more susceptible to leaf disease than its spring counterpart,” says Jon Weinmaster, Crop and Campaign Marketing Manager, Cereals with Bayer.
Eastern Canadian research continues to show that the best recipe for winter wheat is a T1 fungicide application at herbicide timing followed by T3 at flowering. This gives you control of all your early season leaf diseases like septoria, powdery mildew and rust until you spray a T3 at flowering to protect against fusarium head blight (FHB) and late season leaf diseases. It’s a formula that’s proven in winter wheat to provide the best yield returns, comprehensive leaf disease control right through until harvest, and fusarium head blight protection. Early weed pressure is also a big issue in winter wheat. “If you didn’t have the time to control weeds in the fall, then you need to pay close attention this spring,” says Weinmaster. “Even if you did get time to spray winter annuals last year, you still need to scout winter wheat early for weeds and take action.” Weinmaster says that an early T1 application of herbicide and fungicide together can help set your winter wheat crop up for success. “You want to get in early before the canopy closes so you get full herbicide coverage on weeds and good fungicide penetration on lower parts of the plants,” he explains.
Stratego® PRO fungicide tank-mixed with Infinity® herbicide or Infinity FX herbicide is a great option. “Stratego PRO provides long-lasting, broad-spectrum leaf disease control including powdery mildew and septoria, which are usually the first diseases to show up in winter wheat,” he says. “And our Infinity herbicide brands provide growers with multiple modes of action for broadleaf weed control. While early leaf disease and weed control is important, we all know we also need to protect against fusarium head blight with a T3 fungicide application from a registered FHB product,” says Weinmaster. “Prosaro® XTR fungicide from Bayer is the number one fusarium head blight product in Canada. Our portfolio is complete and it performs.”
For more information on any of the Bayer products listed consult your local retail or Bayer representative or visit cropscience.bayer.ca.
BayerValue/Hot Potatoes What’s New with BayerValue/Hot Potatoes? The 2019 BayerValue / Hot Potatoes® Rewards Program provides you with the ability to save up to 12% on your favourite Bayer brands. But it doesn’t stop there, with a wide range of new seed trait technologies, a host of new innovations and 50+ qualifying products your rewards add up quickly. MAXIMIZE YOUR SAVINGS What would my rebate be? Here’s an example with just corn. Combine 300 acres of any VT Double PRO® RIB Complete® corn hybrid with 300 acres of Converge® XT broad-spectrum corn herbicide and 300 acres of Proline® corn fungicide for FHB will get you a rebate of over $1,600! You’ll have the corn hybrid that meets your needs, powerful broad-spectrum weed control from Converge XT and DON reduction from Proline — the number 1 FHB fungicide in corn. Tough to beat that.
For complete offer details, please visit cropscience.bayer.ca/BayerValue.
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