By Riley Wiltfong, Big Cob Hybrids Farm-Fit Planning Specialist
Corteva’s “Up and Coming” Enlist E3 soybeans finally made its debut commercially before the 2019 growing season. Although it was highly anticipated and sparked the interest of many farmers, here at Big Cob Hybrids, we still saw more of Bayer’s Round-up Ready 2 Xtend soybeans go out the door. We assume familiarity with the RR2 Xtend soybean trait was the biggest driving force when it came time for the farmer to make the decision on which trait to plant on their farms. It will be extremely interesting to see how the market looks as time goes on. Is there a swing on the horizon?
When RR2 Xtend soybeans are brought into conversation, drift and volatility typically follow as negatives.
That is a concern of farmers across the Midwest, especially the farmers that may plant Enlist or Liberty/GT27s. Not that long ago if you went by a field that was planted to Xtend soybeans, you could find a damaged field due to drift or off target movement just down the road. 2019 did show significantly less drift-related damage because farmers and applicators had a better grasp of the “do’s and don’ts” with spraying Dicamba. We expect to see the number of damaged fields decrease as time goes on.
Enlist E3 soybeans came to the market to offer flexibility for the farmer.
The trait allows you to spray Liberty, Round-Up, and Enlist One (2-4D). Another benefit to planting Enlist soybeans is the reduced level of volatility when spraying Enlist One or Enlist Duo. The Enlist products are significantly less volatile than Dicamba products. This results in fewer spraying constrictions for farmers and applicators. One misconception about Enlist soybeans is it lacks in yield compared to Xtend soybeans, which is simply untrue. The genetics in Enlist soybeans may actually be some of the best in the market because they underwent longer test periods due to the lengthy regulatory approval process post Dicamba problems.
As a Farm-Fit Planning Specialist at Big Cob Hybrids, I would leave you with one suggestion, go all in with one or the other. I don’t (and I know you don’t) want to see a mistake happen that ends up killing an entire field.
Ultimately, at Big Cob we want to help you mitigate risk and maximize potential yield by picking the right seed to fit YOUR farming operation. We are here to assist you in making decisions, while keeping in mind your wants and needs on every acre. Call us at (402) 641.5014 or email sales@bigcob.com.
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