Monsanto offers cash to US farmers who use controversial chemical

[CHICAGO] Monsanto Co will give cash back to US farmers who buy a weed killer that has been linked to widespread crop damage, offering an incentive to apply its product even as regulators in several US states weigh restrictions on its use.

The incentive to use XtendiMax with VaporGrip, a herbicide based on a chemical known as dicamba, could refund farmers over half the sticker price of the product in 2018 if they spray it on soya beans Monsanto engineered to resist the weed killer, according to company data.

The United States faced an agricultural crisis this year caused by new formulations of dicamba-based herbicides, which farmers and weed specialists say harmed crops because they evaporated and drifted away from where they were sprayed.

Monsanto says XtendiMax is safe when properly applied. The company is banking on the chemical and soya bean seeds engineered to resist it, called Xtend, to dominate soya bean production in the United States, the world's second-largest exporter.

BASF SE and DowDuPont also sell versions of dicamba-based herbicides.

Monsanto's cash-back offer comes as federal and state regulators are requiring training for farmers who plan to spray dicamba in 2018 and limiting when it can be used. Weed specialists say the restrictions make the chemical more costly and inconvenient to apply, but Monsanto's incentive could help convince farmers to use it anyway.

"We believe cash-back incentives for using XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology better enable growers to use a management system that represents the next level of weed control," said Ryan Rubischko, Monsanto product manager.

XtendiMax costs about US$11 per acre (0.4 hectare) to buy, and Monsanto is offering US$6 per acre in cash back to farmers when they apply it on Xtend soya beans along with other approved herbicides, according to the company.

Monsanto competes against rivals including Bayer AG to sell genetically modified soya bean seeds and chemicals to farmers. Bayer is selling its LibertyLink soya bean brand, a main rival to Xtend, to BASF as part of a deal to acquire Monsanto for US$63.5 billion.

Monsanto also faces increasing government oversight.

This month, North Dakota said it planned to prohibit the use of dicamba herbicides after June 30, 2018, and when temperatures top 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degress Celsius) in a bid to prevent the chemical from drifting away from where it is sprayed.

Missouri said it intends to finalise restrictions on XtendiMax soon, after banning sprayings of BASF's dicamba herbicide, called Engenia, in 10 counties after June 1, 2018, and statewide after July 15, 2018.

Arkansas is close to prohibiting dicamba sprayings after April 15, 2018, the tightest limits yet, while Minnesota is also considering restrictions.

The states are taking action after the US Environmental Protection Agency mandated special training for dicamba users for 2018, requiring farmers to keep records proving they were complying with label instructions.

"Utilising the technology, the cost will go up because of these changes," said Andrew Thostenson, a pesticide specialist for North Dakota State University.

Monsanto predicts US farmers will double plantings of Xtend soya beans to about 40 million acres next year despite reports of crop damage this past summer.

Farmers said its cash-back offer was designed to increase sales.

"I think they're just trying to buy more acres," Dan Henebry, an Illinois farmer who plans to grow Xtend soya beans next year, said about Monsanto.

REUTERS