Canadian growers will be able to order Monsanto soybean varieties with Xtend technology this fall, even though China hasn’t ap-proved the soybean trait.
Monsanto said China’s regulatory agency is scheduled to decide on Roundup Ready2 Xtend soybeans in November. The genetically modified technology allows soybean plants to tolerate applications of glyphosate and dicamba.
“We’ve submitted everything and continue to have interaction (with Chinese regulators) and answer any questions that they have,” said Monsanto Canada spokesperson Trish Jordan.
“We don’t anticipate that there should be any reason why we (won’t) have China approval in November, but you wait until you hear.”
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Monsanto doesn’t want to introduce the new trait in the United States and Canada until it receives Chinese import approval because the country is a major buyer of North American soybeans.
Considering the uncertainty, Monsanto said in mid-September that U.S. growers can pre-order Xtend soybean varieties this fall to take advantage of price discounts.
If 2016 commercialization doesn’t pan out farmers who placed an order can buy a substitute Roundup Ready2 variety at the same discounts.
Jordan said Monsanto Canada is following a similar contingency plan. It will share details with the industry and seed dealers Sept. 24.
Monsanto has been preparing for a commercial release of its new trait and hopes growers will be seeding XTend soybeans next spring.
Monsanto contracted farmers in Manitoba, Ontario and the United States this past spring to replicate Xtend soybean seeds.
“We have seed production (farmers) growing our product and are launching in more (soybean) maturing zones than we had originally expected due to delays in regulatory approvals,” Jennifer Ewankiw, Monsanto Canada’s crop protection marketing manager, said earlier this year.
“So (we’ll be) ready to go in Ontario, Manitoba and into Sask-atchewan (in 2016).”
Jordan said Ontario growers are particularly interested in the new technology. Weeds resistant to glyphosate have infiltrated fields in some parts of Ontario.
“For growers in Eastern Canada who are looking for sustainable weed management solutions, there is going to be high demand for this product and they (growers) are pretty excited about it coming to market.”
Jordan said Chinese approval is a hot topic within Monsanto.
“It’s definitely something we talk about and live and breathe every single day,” she said. “Would we like things to go faster? Sure we would. But we have to operate within the systems that are there.”
Commercialization next year also depends on U.S. regulators. Monsanto is waiting for the Environmental Protection Agency to provide “final chemistry label approval” for the Xtend system, Jordan said.
DowAgro is also waiting for Chinese import approval for its stacked herbicide tolerance trait.
It has full approval in Canada and the U.S. for its Enlist technology, which offers herbicide tolerance for glyphosate and a new formulation of 2,4-D in corn and soybeans.
After a lengthy delay, the EPA registered Dow’s herbicide for the technology, Enlist Duo, last October.
Dow didn’t provide comment for this story prior to deadline.
