EU Gives Monsanto OK to Import Roundup Ready Soybeans in Europe

The European Commission gave Monsanto Company permission to import its Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans and use of the crop for food and feed in the European Union, the St. Louis-based agricultural giant announced July 22.

Monsanto obtained approval to import its Roundup soybeans to China this February and the company said it is in the final stages of review with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to launch the system in the US in 2017. There are also plans afoot to launch the soybean system in Canada next year.

“We’ve seen great demand from growers for Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans,” said Brett Begemann, Monsanto’s president and chief operating officer. “Farmers are telling us they’re looking forward to the benefits of the full Xtend Crop System, including over-the-top use of dicamba and glyphosate. We’re excited to give Canadian growers this opportunity in 2017, along with US growers pending final EPA approval.”

Roundup Ready 2 Xtend is the newest soybean platform produced by the company, formulated to tolerate dicamba, a chemical herbicide. Monsanto said the dicamba-tolerant genetic trait of its new soybeans provide farmers with high yields, more beans per pod, and more bushels per acre.

“It’s important to remind growers that, at this time, there are still no dicamba formulations registered for in-crop use in Roundup Ready 2 Xtend Soybeans or Bollgard II XtendFlex in the United States,” Miriam Paris, US soybean marketing manager at Monsanto, said in a statement. “The approvals for in-crop use of dicamba are in the late stages of review by the EPA and are tracking for a late summer, early fall approval. Pending dicamba over-the-top approval, growers will continue to maximize their yield opportunity through the weed management recommendations and incentives provided by Roundup Ready PLUS Crop Management Solutions.”

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