DTN Blog of the Week

I can say with high confidence that no media outlet has covered the launch of Roundup Xtend soybeans, and the complicated and sometimes controversial news on the dicamba products formulated to use with them, as DTN/The Progressive Farmer. Our Crops and Technology Editor Pam Smith has essentially "owned" this subject for close to two years now.

So we're pleased to partner with herbicide manufacturer BASF to host a free webinar, May 4 at noon CDT, to discuss the latest information on using these new dicamba herbicides, and in particular BASF's Engenia product, during this initial full use season.

The webinar will feature the guru of herbicide application research, Bob Wolf, who will dig deep into the proper ways to apply these new herbicides to get the best weed control, and just as importantly, to do it safely without drift or other off-target movement. He will cover tank mix issues, nozzles, pressure and sprayer speed, all the details critical to keep these products where they belong, and off your neighbor's sensitive crops and plants. The webinar was created in conjunction with BASF's On Target Application Academy program, which also features Wolf, who has been a leader in sprayer applications for more than 30 years.

There will also be plenty of time for live questions and answers during and at the end of the presentation.

The discussion will also feature BASF Diversified Region Tech Service Manager Dan Westberg who will answer questions specific to Engenia.

Farmers have been anxiously awaiting these new seed trait and herbicide formulation packages, particularly farmers fighting glyphosate-resistant weeds. Seed companies have gone all-out with marketing to get the new soybean and other seeds into farmers' hands this spring. From what we hear, there a lot of acres of the dicamba-resistant seed going in the ground.

This will be our first full season to use this package, and to be blunt, the world is watching. If we are careless, if we have a repeat of the off-target issues seen in some areas in 2016, it's not going to go down well.

So we're glad to see BASF step up to do all it can to educate applicators on the best ways to apply these valuable products.

We know it's deep into the busy planting season, that's why we've scheduled the webinar over the traditional lunch hour so that you can have a reason to take a break and get some brain food along with that meal. The webinar also will be available for later download, should you want to review it again when your spraying begins or should you miss it live on May 4.

The link to registering for the webinar is http://www.dtn.com/…

Hope to see you on the 4th.

Greg D. Horstmeier can be reached at greg.hortsmeier@dtn.com

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