Producers will soon see major changes in the way herbicides and surfactants are packaged and sold. Beginning this spring, some herbicides that had previously been packaged with a surfactant will be sold separately as unique products.
BASF is the first manufacturer to do this in a large part of its product line, including Odyssey, Poast Ultra and Pursuit Ultra, said Doon Pauly, a crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture
Farmers who use these herbicides will also have to buy Merge, the recommended surfactant.
Even though BASF is the first manufacturer to separate surfactants and herbicides, other chemical companies are expected to make similar changes in the near future. While consumers may imagine ulterior motives, Pauly said the companies are responding to changes in the way herbicides are sprayed on crops.
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“Although it has been convenient to have surfactants packaged with herbicides, the surfactant in the package was usually sufficient for 10 gallons per acre spray volumes,” he said.
“Since a lot of acres are sprayed at less than 10 gallons per acre, the convenient packages had excess surfactant that became an inconvenience. This surplus surfactant was often wasted, stored on farm or returned to the point of purchase for no credit. With separate herbicides and surfactants, farmers will now only have to purchase the surfactant that they need based on their management practices.”
Independent surfactant requirements are not new to the industry. Refine Extra, Ally, and Reglone all require surfactants that are not packaged with the herbicide and must be bought separately. In the near future, however, separate herbicide and surfactant purchases will be normal rather than the exception.
“Separate surfactant and herbicide purchases may initially be a little inconvenient to some, but the concept is not foreign and will be welcomed by many in the industry,” Pauly said.
