The Bayer CARE initiative has been encouraging growers to be good stewards of the land, but now Bayer is making that goal more attainable with Fluency Agent Advanced.
The CARE acronym stands for:
- Communicate planting activities to neighboring beekeepers
- Be Aware of wind speed and direction during your planting
- Reduce the amount of dust potentially released during planting
- Ensure seed is planted correctly
Fluency Agent Advanced is the newly reformulated seed lubrication for corn and soybeans that can be used at the time of planting, like other lubricants, but goes a step further with “Reducing” dust. “Fluency Agent Advanced really does more than other seed lubricants, says Bayer Seed Growth product manager, Melissa Chu. “To start off from a stewardship aspect, Fluency Agent Advanced further reduces the amount of dust and active ingredients potentially released during planting, thereby reducing the potential exposure to pollinators. So it really is an excellent tool from a stewardship aspect.”
The new product also offers improved seed flow, good singulation, and easier clean-up. It also has less residue built up and can be used in all planters that use seed lubricant- and at a lower use rate. So far growers using it in trials have been very happy with the performance, Chu says. They’re getting a better overall experience from a planting standpoint, plus the added benefits of good stewardship.
What kind of stewardship benefits are growers really looking at? The lubricant can reduce dust by 88 percent, says Ron Reichert, application technology manager for Bayer Seed Growth. If you look at the insecticide portion, that can be reduced by 69 percent. “With the Fluency Agent Advanced we’re just driving that lower level even lower,” Reichert explains.
Listen to Cindy’s interview about the CARE program and Fluency Agent Advance here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/bayer-fluency.mp3″ text=”Interview with Melissa Chu and Ron Reichert, Bayer”]