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Walla Walla, Washington
July 24, 2003
Day-long event also showcases General Mills.
new ClearFirst variety
After more than seven years in development, the
nation.s first herbicide-tolerant wheat is a reality in the
Pacific Northwest.
At a day-long launch meeting July 17, more than
200 members of the Pacific Northwest wheat industry learned
about the CLEARFIELD* Production System for wheat and
ClearFirst, the first new CLEARFIELD variety developed and
marketed by General Mills.
Chad Shelton, CLEARFIELD market development
manager with BASF,
characterized the launch as the first of its kind in the Pacific
Northwest, in which a new technology is simultaneously rolled
out to seed retailers, agricultural chemical retailers and grain
merchandisers.
"Look around," Shelton urged. "This isn't your
typical launch meeting".
The need to bring many different industry
segments together for the launch, Shelton said, is driven by the
nature of the CLEARFIELD technology: an "intricate, functioning
system" that requires the commitment of the entire wheat
production chain to be successful.
"One of the things we've been hearing you say is
that we need to be sure to steward this technology properly,"
Shelton said. "That's why we're here today".
he CLEARFIELD* stewardship protocol, Shelton
said, is designed to prolong the usefulness of the non-GMO
technology and prevent the onset of herbicide resistance. Key
tenets of the protocol require
growers to:
Use Beyond. herbicide in
accordance with the product label, including stated label
rates and timing.
In addition, the CLEARFIELD stewardship protocol
includes the following recommended
practices:
Rotate CLEARFIELD winter
wheat with spring crops such as corn, sorghum, sunflowers,
soybeans or peas to break the cycle of winter annual weeds and
allow the use of alternate mode-of-action herbicides.
Use herbicides with
different modes of action; specifically, limit the sole
reliance of ALS-inhibiting herbicides (of which Beyond is one)
to no more than two out of four years unless other control
practices are implemented on target weeds.
Properly manage weeds in
wheat-fallow rotations.
"We need cleaner wheat"
Kevin Hodges, ClearFirst marketing manager with
General Mills, cited a simple reason for his company's
partnership with BASF.
'We need cleaner wheat at General Mills," Hodges
said. "Is wheat important to us? Yes. Do we want cleaner wheat?
Yes. That's the key for us. General Mills considers it a very
strong relationship we have with BASF."
The CLEARFIELD* system allows for cleaner wheat
because of Beyond™ herbicide's ability to control previously
uncontrolled, or difficult-to-control, weeds such as jointed
goatgrass, brome species and feral (or cereal) rye. Such weeds
have been a menace to wheat growers for years not only because
they can reduce crop yields, but also because they lead to
increased dockage and presence of foreign matter in the
harvested crop.
Hodges said he considers this year's ClearFirst
trials a "model for the future". He noted that the second
General Mills CLEARFIELD winter wheat variety, called Mel, is
slated for introduction in fall 2004. Hodges characterized Mel
as a club winter wheat, adapted for the Pacific Northwest, with
a Coda background. He estimated that pilot programs would get
under way this fall, with 50,000 to 75,000 acres expected to be
planted commercially in 2004.
Further down the road, Hodges said General Mills
was anticipating two new varieties of hard white winter wheat,
one new variety of hard white spring wheat and one new variety
of hard red winter wheat for the 2005-06 season.
Early returns - and long-term vision
Shelton noted that the CLEARFIELD* system,
including Beyond. herbicide and the ClearFirst variety, was used
in 28 demo plots and pilot launches this year in the Pacific
Northwest. As of July 17, BASF had conducted follow-up surveys
with more than two-thirds of the growers involved in this year's
demo plots. Shelton, who characterized growers' feedback as
"very positive," shared key results with meeting attendees.
Eighty-five percent said
the system met or exceeded their expectations.
Asked to rate the
ClearFirst variety on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being best),
90 percent rated it a 6 or higher, with 55 percent rating it
at least an 8.
Finally, asked whether they
would use the system again, and whether they would recommend
the CLEARFIELD system to their neighbor, 95 percent of growers
responded affirmatively to both questions.
Shelton repeatedly emphasized during the launch
meeting that the CLEARFIELD* technology, and indeed the overall
BASF vision for agriculture, is predicated on a long-term view.
"We believe ag is going to be around for a long
time," Shelton said. "Let's make sure the system is around a
long time as well."
BASF: Helping Make Products
Better.
BASF is the world's leading
chemical company, offering its customers a range of
high-performance products, including chemicals, plastics,
coatings systems, dispersions, agricultural products and fine
chemicals as well as crude oil and natural gas. BASF is an
industry leader in sustainable development, including
environmental protection, safety and health, and social
responsibility. BASF had 2001 sales of $29 billion and employs
more than 90,000 people worldwide. BASF shares are traded on the
stock exchanges in New York (BF), Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA),
Paris (BA) and Zurich (BAS). BASF Corporation is the North
American affiliate of BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany. In North
America, 2001 sales were $6.9 billion and the company employs
approximately 14,000 people. For more information or to
subscribe to receive news releases by e-mail, visit
www.basf.com/usa.
With sales of Euro 3.5 billion in
2001, BASF.s Agricultural Products division, headquartered in
Mount Olive, New Jersey, USA, is a leading supplier and marketer
of herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Based on its broad
experience in R&D, manufacturing, marketing and sales, the
vision of BASF.s Agricultural Products division is to be the
world.s leading innovator, optimizing agricultural production,
improving nutrition, and thus enhancing the quality of life for
a growing world population.
CLEARFIELD is a
registered trademark and Beyond is a trademark of BASF.
© 2003 BASF Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
APN 03-02-177-4005 |
