US Farmers Concerned About Glyphosate Resistant Weeds

Jul 31, 2012

By Joe Dales Joe Dales , Farms.com

After a recent independent survey, conducted by Farm Journal about glyphosate, it concluded that about 80 per cent of farmers in the U.S. believe that glyphosate-tolerant crop systems will lose all of its effectiveness within 10 years. This statistic expresses of a 10 per cent increase in farmers concern about glyphosate resistance in just two years. The numbers of experiments and opinions of highly knowledgeable farmers are a good reminder of the increasing concern over the effects of glyphosate resistance. There is a growing demand for new weed control solutions to augment the current glyphosate system.

Glyphosate resistant infestations are much higher in the United States than they are in Canada yet Dr. Peter Sikkema, Field Crop Weed Management Associate Professor at the University of Guelph reminds all growers across North America that “Diversity in crop production is key. Growers need to include diversity in both the crops grown and herbicides used. It is imperative that growers use multiple herbicide modes-of-actions.”

The results of the survey were shared in great detail with industry experts present at recent Dow AgroSciences field tours. After hearing the reports on the subject, Al McFadden, Research Scientist, Dow AgroSciences said that “Farmers are also becoming more concerned about glyphosate resistance. This survey is a wake-up call that we need to manage now for the future.”

The U.S. quantitative survey took place in early 2012 and included more than 400 cotton, soybean and corn farmers across the southern and the Midwestern states. The main purpose of the survey was to provide a direct on-farm insight of the risks of losing glyphosate-tolerant technology and also the benefits of the herbicide-tolerant technology. Eighty percent of the farmers who participated in the survey were concerned with resistant weeds and more than two-thirds of the farmers were concerned with hard to control weeds. To find out more information on managing glyphosate resistant weeds visit, www.advancefarming.com.

Growers across North America are also becoming aware that the conservation benefits of glyphosate are also threatened. Approximately, 40 per cent of farmers ranked one of the most important benefits of a glyphosate-tolerant system being the ability to conserve moisture in the soil and minimize erosion through reduced tillage. The survey indicates that U.S. farmers, and Canadian farmers too are looking for new technology to improve and build upon the glyphosate system.

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