Bayer Fluency Agent – Facts for 2014 Planting Season

Apr 16, 2014

There continues to be some mixed messaging going on in terms of when and where Bayer Fluency Agent must be used this growing season.

Here are the facts as stated by PMRA. NOTE the exceptions below:

1) The mandatory use of Fluency Agent only applies when planting corn and soybeans. All other crops are exempt.

2) Fluency Agent must be used if using a seed flow lubricant for planting corn and soybean seed treated with neonicotinoid insecticides (containing the active ingredients clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam). Talc and graphite are not permitted for use as a seed flow lubricant.

3) Exceptions to the above include:

Planting machinery that does not currently require the use of a seed flow lubricant. That is, if you haven’t used lubricant before, you don’t need to use the Fluency Agent now.
The use of graphite may continue as a mechanical lubricant in finger pickup or mechanical type planters only (i.e. non-pneumatic equipment).

For those who are still in doubt, here is PMRA’s website explaining this criteria and further information on Fluency Agent: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pest/_fact-fiche/pollinator-protection-pollinisateurs/treated_seed-2014-semences_traitees-eng.php

Source: Fieldcropnews

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.