October 30, 2002

The demand for Roundup Ready® corn has exploded over the last several years. The herbicide-tolerant corn, designed to survive applications of Roundup herbicide, is giving farmers excellent weed-control and crop-safety benefits while resisting the affects of glyphosate, a contact herbicide found in
Roundup. A contact herbicide, like Roundup, kills almost all vegetation, including weeds, when it is applied to the above-ground portion of the plant.

This allows farmers the benefit of killing yield-robbing weeds while maintaining the integrity of their crop. The system offers many advantages, including ease of use and consistent results. Many experts agree that attributes such as these are the reason behind the recent upsurge in Roundup Ready demand.

Today, more than ever, farmers are making business decisions that contribute to the bottom line, and Roundup Ready corn seems to be a popular tactic within an overall efficiency strategy.

Mark Gueck, a northeast Colorado farmer and ProSeller for Garst Seed Company, said, "Everyone is trying to find an angle to save time, labor, fuel, and wear and tear on equipment. Roundup Ready corn gives me that angle."

Scott Staggenborg, Ph.D., said the recent Roundup Ready corn explosion is easy to explain. "Roundup Ready corn has brought farmers the simplicity they craved," said the associate professor and northeast-area extension agronomist at Kansas State University. "It is a much more forgiving system from a farm management standpoint. Corn producers are seeing the advantages that a systems approach can bring to weed management," he added.

Staggenborg explained that the Roundup Ready system provides effectiveness in weed control along with great flexibility for the grower.

Ken Franzky, agronomist at Garst Seed Company for the southwest Minnesota area, agreed that growers are finding the flexibility and simplicity of the Roundup Ready system appealing. "There aren't as many chemical mixes to remember; it is easy to apply, and they have a wider window for herbicide
application," he said. "It doesn't matter if they get rained out now because Roundup Ready corn gives growers more opportunities to spray herbicide," Franzky noted.

"Seed companies offering this technology have noticed a significant increase in demand for Roundup Ready corn hybrids over the past few years," said Gene Kassmeyer, crop product manager for Garst Seed Company. "Our estimates for Roundup Ready corn acreage show a gain in the popularity of this technology. In 2000, Roundup Ready corn was planted on somewhere around 4 percent of all corn acres. Just two years later, those acres increased to about 8 percent of total corn acres planted. For the 2003 crop year, we estimate it could be as large as 15 to 20 percent of all corn acres."

The Monsanto Company, a leader in biotechnology, also notes a dramatic increase in Roundup Ready corn acres, citing that 2.3 million acres of Roundup Ready corn were grown in 1999, up from 1 million acres in its first year.

Those numbers are no surprise to Gueck. "I have switched a lot of my conventional hybrid acres to Roundup Ready corn," said the Haxton, Colorado grower. "Other options I've tried were ineffective in controlling the weeds. Roundup Ready corn gives me the flexibility I need."

"Farmers prefer the Roundup Ready herbicide system because it is easy," said Bill Gilbert, a Colorado agronomist for Garst. "There is no carryover herbicide effect, and it gives farmers more freedom in their operation," Gilbert added.

Gilbert said that crop safety is also a big issue for farmers when choosing a weed-control system. "This system is extremely safe on the corn," he said. "It maintains good plant health, eliminating the risk of injuring the corn with herbicide," Gilbert noted. "We just don't see things like severe burning and leaf necrosi s in Roundup Ready fields," he added.

"We haven't seen any trouble with plant health using the Roundup Ready system," said Doug Roggow, owner of North Forty Ag in Gregory, S.D. "Roundup Ready corn makes up about 95 percent of what we sell here," he added.

Roggow said that growers in his area are buying Roundup Ready corn because it is easy to use and inexpensive, and it provides unsurpassed weed control. He said that he has seen a tremendous increase in the number of Roundup Ready corn acres planted over the last several years. "Since it came out, its popularity keeps growing," Roggow said.

"We've worked with the Roundup Ready trait long enough that it is now fully integrated into some of our most elite germplasm," Kassmeyer said. "That means our customers can not only expect the yield performance they demand but also the top-notch agronomic performance Garst is famous for. In fact, now that weeds are being controlled in some fields, we are seeing higher yields," he added.

Kassmeyer summed it up best when he said: "High yield; sound agronomics; and the convenience, effectiveness and simplicity of the Roundup Ready system offer our customers weed control not available with our conventional seed options. That's a sound business decision with limited risk," Kassmeyer concluded.