Liberty

Someone at Bayer threw a kink into our Liberty Link plans this week.

"January 04, 2012 15:45 ET

Bayer CropScience Announces Liberty Herbicide to Replace Ignite Herbicide for LibertyLink Crops

ORLANDO, FL--(Marketwire - Jan 4, 2012) - Bayer CropScience announced today during a media briefing at the 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences (#BWCC12) that the global brand Liberty® herbicide will replace the Ignite® herbicide brand for use on LibertyLink® crops in the U.S. market starting in the 2012 crop season.

"Globally, the use of the LibertyLink system is experiencing rapid adoption due to growing weed resistance to glyphosate and the excellent germplasm performance, which in turn is increasing the demand for a non-selective herbicide," said Al Luke, head of broad acre crop marketing for Bayer CropScience. "Bayer is investing to increase the global production of Liberty herbicide and help ensure adequate supplies, especially in the rapidly expanding U.S. market."

Weed resistance is a growing problem and the LibertyLink system with Liberty herbicide is the most reliable and powerful in-crop or non-selective weed management solution available to battle glyphosate-resistant weeds. Using the LibertyLink system allows for the rotation of crops, traits and herbicides to preserve the utility of herbicide-tolerant technology.

"Liberty herbicide still offers the same benefits and levels of performance as the former Ignite herbicide, including the new 65 ounce seasonal maximum for soybeans," Luke said. "And Liberty herbicide should be applied according to label directions. Liberty herbicide is the most reliable and powerful in-crop weed management solution available to battle glyphosate-resistant weeds."

Luke added, "In addition, the change of the brand name to Liberty will focus and more closely link the herbicide with LibertyLink crops, including FiberMax and Stoneville cotton, InVigor canola and many corn and soybean brands."

For additional information and background on weed resistance issues, please visit the Bayer CropScience YouTube channel and Twitter handle. To learn more about Bayer CropScience, visit www.bayercropscience.us or contact your local sales representative for product information.

About Bayer CropScience
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 6.830 billion (2010), is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and traits. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of 20,700 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.press.bayercropscience.com.

This left lots of farmers and dealers sratching their heads this week. We are awaiting more information as many farmers have their Liberty Link seed bought but do not have their Ignite purchased to apply on these resistant seeds.

Ed