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Australian agronomists and resellers learn from North American colleaguesAustralia - July 01, 2012
The future of agriculture is bright according to a team of Australian agronomists and rural merchandisers who recently undertook a 10-day study tour of Canada and North America with Dow AgroSciences. One of the nine Australians on the tour, Matt Foster, is a pasture agronomist working with graziers in the Armidale region. Matt said a particular highlight of the trip was gaining an appreciation of the sheer amount of work that goes into the research and development of new products following a tour of the Dow AgroSciences head office in Indianapolis. "We hear a lot about the time and financial commitment it takes to develop new products, but it wasn't until I actually saw Dow AgroSciences' research and development unit and met with the scientists that I realised what an enormous undertaking it is to get new products to market. "One of the most exciting products, Chapparal™, has been on the market in North America for five years where it's used to control a range of woody weeds including diamond willow and pasture sage. "The growers I spoke to swear by it, particularly its residual capacity. One guy we spoke with is getting two to three years' protection from the one application, which is a huge benefit in terms of reducing input costs while ensuring ongoing woody weed management. The Dow AgroSciences team in Australia has a similar product under development and I'm really looking forward to seeing it hit the market here in Australia,” Matt said. Fellow pasture agronomist Mick Duncan, also from Armidale, said he was impressed by the broader spectrum of products available to growers in Canada and North America for the management of broadleaf weeds and woody weeds. "I was particularly impressed by the Enlist™ Weed Control System, combining 2,4-D and quizalofop herbicide tolerance genetics that we saw being trialed in corn and soy crops in Indiana,” Mick said. The Enlist Weed Control System has been developed to improve the performance of the glyphosate tolerant weed management system on hard to kill and glyphosate resistant weeds. The Enlist Weed Control System is based on the novel Enlist Duo™ herbicide which is optimised with Colex-D™ Technology. Enlist Duo provides ultra-low volatility, reduced drift, decreased odour and improved handling. Being able to deploy a herbicide such as Enlist Duo over a sensitive crop such as corn, soybean, and cotton is a truly revolutionary step in advancing agricultural productivity. While the initial focus for this technology is North America, Mick said it was a great example of Dow AgroSciences' technical innovation to solve challenges in ag production. Tour organiser, Jon Dadd, Grain Protection Business Manager for Dow AgroSciences, said the trip which ran from June 13 – 22 included northern New South Wales shareholder members of the Australian Independent Rural Retailers (AIRR). "Along with learning about the new crop protection pipeline products and advances in crop breeding, the group met with local land managers, applicators and farming communities,” Jon said. "We even visited a Hutterite colony in Southern Alberta, Canada. The Hutterite colony, a communal branch of the Anabaptists, play a big role in North America's agricultural landscape and, while they may be traditional in their dress and culture, they are big believers in using modern technology to get the most from their agricultural enterprises,” Jon said. Further south in the Upland Snowy Ranges in Montana, we toured a Black Simmental breeding enterprise which exports embryos to various breeders in Australia, even into a local farming family in Nundle in the New England region of New South Wales. It made us all realise how interconnected the ag industry is worldwide. "That evening we spotted black bears running around the surrounding hills and then learnt about increasing cattle predation that is associated with encroaching populations of wolves, coyotes, black and grizzly bears. "There may be some significant differences in terms of climate and growing techniques, but essentially, we all share the same commitment to making the most out of our ag business, be it farming, grazing or retailing. For Editorial Information:
Jim Phimister
Sharyn Casey |
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