TruFlex^® canola with Roundup Ready^® Technology to be available in 2019 season

Image: Tim Hayes (left), who farms in the mid-west region of Western Australia said TruFlex canola would provide greater flexibility in his farming system (with Hugh Trenorden, Bayer Crop Science regional business manager for Western Australia).

MARA has notified Bayer Crop Science that a safety certificate for TruFlex canola has been granted and has publicly posted this information on their website. Bayer Crop Science is awaiting final documentation, which is expected to be received shortly.

TruFlex canola is part of an improved canola system compared to Roundup Ready canola and is designed for a range of growing conditions. It allows a wider window of application and more robust rates of Roundup Ready Herbicide with PLANTSHIELD^® by Monsanto giving growers more flexibility with weed control.

Head of Customer Marketing for Bayer Crop Science, Tony May, said the company has been trialling TruFlex canola in Australia since 2011.

Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) granted food approval of TruFlex canola in 2013, and the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) granted environmental safety approval in 2014. The product has also been approved for import in several other key export markets for Australian canola, including the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Mr May said that the safety certificate from China was an important regulatory step required to give Bayer Crop Science the confidence to move forward with commercial introduction in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

He said limited seed should be available this year for farmers to trial alongside their current Roundup Ready canola.

“Importantly, with this regulatory approval now in place, seed companies will be able to produce good quantities of TruFlex canola hybrids next season,” Mr May said.

“This should mean much larger quantities of TruFlex canola seed will be available to growers in the 2020 season.”

The release followed field days across canola-growing regions of New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia in 2017 and 2018.

“There has been a great deal of interest in TruFlex canola over the past few seasons,” Mr May said. “This was highlighted by the large number of growers, agronomists and industry personnel attending field days last year.

 “Australian growers want, and need, new technology to help control weeds and drive yield on their farms and we are confident they are looking forward to planting TruFlex canola over the coming seasons.”

Further information on TruFlex canola is available at www.truflex.com.au

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.