Partnership developed with Australian company
By Diego Flammini, Farms.com
Two large agricultural companies have developed a five year partnership to try and come up with new, innovative weed control solutions.
Bayer CropScience, the global company known for its innovations in seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control, has teamed up with Australia’s Grains Research & Development Corporation. Together, they signed the Herbicide Innovation Partnership and will work together to discover and develop new weed management initiatives.
“Increasing weed resistance to major herbicide classes is endangering broadacre crop production on a global level”, said Axel Trautwein, Head of Small Molecules Research at Bayer CropScience. “New weed control solutions are a priority for our research. The challenges to solve those problems are too large for one company, university or even country. We need a network of partners with complementary specialisations. This partnership with GRDC and Australian universities is an excellent example of such a global network that will deliver real benefits to Australian agriculture and beyond.”
The major undertaking is to provide growers the new tools and technologies to manage resistant weeds and support modern crop production.
“In Australia alone, it is estimated farmers lose more than A$3 billion ($2.3 billion USD) per year due to resistant and poorly controlled weeds. We see this as an important opportunity to tackle this challenge and put Australian farms at the forefront of this exciting partnership. We want to add as many tools to the integrated weed management toolbox as possible”, said Richard Clark, Chairman at GRDC.
Tell us your thoughts about the new partnership between Bayer CropScience and GRDC. What kind of weeds do you hope they tackle? Is there one in particular that causes you trouble?