Ahead of the 2018 growing season, Monsanto is providing hundreds of free, in-person training sessions to help reinforce proper use of low-volatility dicamba formulations to control weeds in the Roundup Ready® Xtend Crop System. Under the new federal Restricted Use Pesticide label, training is mandatory for all applicators prior to using low-volatility dicamba formulations, including XtendiMax® Herbicide with VaporGrip® Technology.

XtendiMax® Herbicide with VaporGrip® Technology has been approved for in-crop use as part of the Roundup Ready® Xtend Crop System in 33 states in 2018. Seven of the 33 states – Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina and Tennessee – require that applicators attend training sessions provided by the state. In the other 26 states, Monsanto and other low-volatility dicamba registrants are providing training. States where Monsanto trainings are scheduled include Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. New training dates are being added to the site regularly.

Monsanto’s training sessions focus on compliance with the product label, application requirements, required record keeping, understanding of susceptible/sensitive crops, window of application and understanding environmental conditions such as inversions, along with other important topics. The training sessions last approximately 90 minutes, and participants will receive a certificate of completion.

While Monsanto’s training sessions are focused on the federal and state label requirements for its low-volatility product, XtendiMax® Herbicide with VaporGrip® Technology, they are designed to satisfy the mandatory training requirement to apply any of the low-volatility dicamba herbicides approved for use in their states.

“Because of the excellent weed control and strong yields growers saw in 2017, we are seeing a significant increase in demand for Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® Soybeans this year,” said Ryan Rubischko, Monsanto’s dicamba portfolio lead. “As we prepare for the season, we want to remind growers and applicators that under the enhanced federal label, training is mandatory for all applicators this year. In the 26 states where we can provide training directly as a registrant, we are already scheduling hundreds of trainings to ensure that growers have as many convenient and accessible choices as possible, and we will continue to add more training sessions throughout the application season. For the remaining states, we are making information about state-provided training easily accessible on our website.”

“We encourage all growers and applicators to visit roundupreadyxtend.com/training to learn about training opportunities in your state,” Rubischko said. “We are committed to ensuring that the training experience for growers is convenient and informative, and we will provide support to our customers every step of the way this season.”