Vance Crowe delivered the keynote address at the Bushel Buddy Seat Conference on Wednesday. Crowe has a diverse background, including time as the director of millennial engagement at Monsanto. Crowe said major ag companies need to protect their technology, but the way they engage with the farmer should change. A recent letter from Corteva to farmers about the possible use of a generic 2-4D product on its Enlist soybeans was cited. “It appears to me that Corteva took the same playbook that Monsanto did, and they may run headlong into the same issue that Monsanto did which was they alienated farmers which made it very easy for the broader public to side against modern agriculture, and that resulted in lawsuits and eventually the sale of the company.” Enlist herbicides with Colex-D technology are the only 2,4-D products authorized and labeled for use on Enlist crops. In a letter to growers, Corteva said farmers can anonymously report the unauthorized use of non-Enlist 2,4-D products with Enlist crops. “I think the way it was presented was not good; after COVID, people are very sensitive to things like reporting on our neighbors.” Crowe described that language as “a poison pill.” Crowe shares more thoughts in the Ag Tribes Report podcast.
