St. Louis, Mo. — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new 5-year registration for XtendiMax herbicide with VaporGrip Technology, an important weed-control tool for many U.S. growers. The EPA stated that “With today’s decision, farmers now have the certainty they need to make plans for their 2021 growing season. After reviewing substantial amounts of new information, conducting scientific assessments based on the best available science, and carefully considering input from stakeholders we have reached a resolution that is good for our farmers and our environment.”

“We welcome the EPA’s science-based review and registration decision providing growers access to this important tool,” said Lisa Safarian, President of Bayer Crop Science North America. “Growers need options, and we are proud of our role in bringing innovations like XtendiMax herbicide forward to help growers safely and successfully protect their crops from tough-to-control weeds.”

The new EPA-approved product label for XtendiMax herbicide includes some changes to further ensure growers can use the product successfully. The EPA stated, “To manage off-site movement of dicamba, EPA’s 2020 registration features important control measures, including:

• Requiring an approved [volatility reduction] buffering agent (also called a Volatility Reduction Agent or VRA) be tank mixed with OTT dicamba products prior to all applications to control volatility.

• Requiring a downwind buffer of 240 feet and 310 feet in areas where listed species are located.

• Prohibiting OTT application of dicamba on soybeans after June 30 and cotton after July 30.

• Simplifying the label and use directions so that growers can more easily determine when and how to properly apply dicamba.”

“Growers have been clear how vitally important this tool is for their weed-management programs,”said Alex Zenteno, Bayer dicamba product manager. “The EPA’s strong science- based decision and new measures, including the introduction of VaporGrip Xtra Agent, will help growers use the product even more successfully. We look forward to working with growers to ensure they are aware of the new XtendiMax herbicide label and prepared for the upcoming season. We take our stewardship responsibility very seriously, and we will continue to enhance our trainings, resources, and other support heading into 2021.”

The new EPA registration for XtendiMax herbicide follows Bayer’s recent launch announcement for XtendFlex soybeans, which brings additional yield potential and weed-control flexibility to the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System.

“Now that growers have certainty about the registration of XtendiMax herbicide and availability of XtendFlex soybeans, we are excited for our customers to have an outstanding 2021 season and beyond,” said Safarian. “We are committed to the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System, which will continue to evolve and play an important role in Bayer’s crop protection and seed portfolio going forward.”

The Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System Yield Advantage

“The 2020 season was unique in many aspects, but the yield advantage seen by farmers using the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System proved to be consistently high once again,” said John Chambers, Bayer’s North American Head of Market Development. “Harvest results so far show that the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System has an average 3.5 bushel per acre yield advantage over the Enlist TM Weed Control System in farmer managed herbicide systems trials. We’ve seen consistent performance with a 75% win rate across these comparisons. Overall, farmers continue to experience excellent weed control with higher profit potential. We encourage our customers to connect with their local seed seller to understand local performance and product recommendations.”

“In the early results from Bayer’s commercial germplasm trials, farmers continue to experience high-yield performance and the solid agronomics they have come to expect,” added Chambers. “When we look at the performance of Bayer’s top volume XtendFlex soybean products, they have won over 70% of the comparisons against Enlist E3TM soybeans so far and are delivering a 4+ bushel per acre advantage.”

“In addition, cotton with XtendFlex Technology continues to see strong yield potential and agronomic results from what has been harvested thus far,” added Chambers. “Bayer looks forward to sharing the yield results shortly after harvest. From 2017-2019, Bollgard 3 XtendFlex cotton saw an 87 lbs. per acre advantage vs. key competitors in head-to-head testing.”