The health and nutrition multinational Bayer is present at Showtec, the largest agricultural event in Mato Grosso do Sul, based in Maracaju (MS), which takes place between the 25th and 27th of May. The event will show visitors solutions that will support producers in the region to increase productivity, as well as news about business models that the multinational is starting to introduce this year.
“At Showtec, we will have the opportunity to show up close how we are bringing innovations that allow us to produce more per hectare and reduce environmental impact, helping farmers make smarter and more efficient decisions in the field”, says Fábio Prata, portfolio director Bayer crop protection system for Latin America. “With global investments of around €2 billion per year in research and development, we continue to deliver innovation, always focusing on meeting the needs of our customers’ rural properties, crops and planting,” he highlights.
For farmers in Mato Grosso do Sul, currently the fifth largest grain producing state in the country, according to the National Supply Company (Conab), Bayer will bring advances in solutions from planting to harvest, such as new biotechnologies for corn and soybeans, new in crop protection and digital innovations, developed to contribute to more productive and sustainable agriculture. Visitors to Showtec 2022 will be able to see all the innovations at Espaço Bayer, which has a physical version at the fair after being launched in 2021 in the virtual world, with the aim of offering an immersive and fully customized experience.
The fair will promote panels on topics such as family succession, technology and startups, weed management and other technical discussions. At Bayer's stand, it will be possible to participate in activations that address products and services, through unique and innovative experiences to expand visitors' knowledge.
“Our priority is to nurture an increasingly close relationship with our customers so that we can understand rural producers’ pain points and deliver solutions that generate value”, says the Bayer director. “In recent years we have worked hard to digitalize this relationship with farmers, including strengthening our Impulso Bayer program, well represented in our space”. Producers will have the opportunity to learn more about exclusive experiences and have access to redeemable services through their points, which can be accumulated with the purchase of Bayer brand solutions.
In addition, visitors will be able to experience up close the functionalities of Climate FieldView, Bayer's digital agriculture platform that already maps more than 22 million hectares in Brazil. In addition to obtaining more information and watching demonstrations, customers will be able to test, purchase and collect products and solutions at the company's FieldView Shop physical store with special conditions.
Solutions like FieldView enable new business models to be launched on the market in the coming years. One of them is Bayer Valora, an innovative shared risk initiative, still in the pre-commercial phase, that provides customized corn population density recommendations to producers. Using data and prescriptions from the Climate FieldView platform, farmers participating in the program will receive recommendations on the ideal corn population in each plot, seeking a real gain in productivity in relation to the management already adopted on the property. If the result is below that projected by the company, the producer receives back the value of the additional quantity of seeds invested to implement the Bayer recommendation, thus having his risk shared with the company.
The use of data is also responsible for supporting models already known to farmers and which are gaining strength, such as the Bayer Carbon initiative. Developed collaboratively with rural producers and partners, the project offers advantages for Brazilian farmers willing to increase their productivity and increase carbon sequestration in the soil through the adoption of sustainable agronomic practices.
More options for the producer
According to data from the National Supply Company (Conab), the production of grains grown in the second harvest and winter cereals should increase in Mato Grosso do Sul crops, presenting good prospects for producers in the region. Visitors to Showtec will be able to see some of Bayer's recent innovations to support the region, which in recent years has intensified the adoption of sustainable practices and the use of digital tools.
For soybeans, Bayer launched the most advanced biotechnology on the market in the 2021/2022 harvest, the Intacta2 Xtend Platform, which provides a new leap for Brazilian productivity. During the fair, producers will have the opportunity to learn about the benefits of the platform, check out all the varieties adapted for each region of the country, and learn more about the different pillars that make up the i2x platform.
According to Bayer's technical soybean manager, Matheus Palhano, the forecast is to arrive in the 2022/2023 harvest with twice as many varieties of i2x available on the market today, many of them from brands already established in the Central-West region such as Monsoy and Agroeste. “We want producers to have the best platform to take soybean productivity to a new level, and that is why we will go from the current 30 varieties adapted for the 5 macro-regions of the country to at least 60 varieties in the harvest that begins in September this year,” he says.
For corn, producers will be able to observe the new VTPRO4 biotechnology through hybrids from brands such as Agroceres, Agroeste and Dekalb. In addition to further contributing to the control of the main caterpillars that affect the crop from the root part to the leaves and cob, the recently launched VTPRO4 biotechnology presents high productivity with varieties adapted for the entire country.
In the area of crop protection, Bayer will present the newest option for the pre-emergence management of weeds in corn for the 2022 harvest. This is Adengo, which will bring producers an alternative with a broad spectrum of control and two modes of action (Isoxaflutole and Thiencarbazone), acting on both broad and narrow leaves. The solution has a stable and long-lasting formulation and can be used with or without the formation of straw, providing effective desiccation management.
Another prominent solution is the Fox Xpro fungicide, which combats the main diseases of soybeans, corn, cotton, winter cereals, sunflowers and beans. Composed of three active ingredients and an innovative formulation, Fox Xpro protects crops from diseases such as Asian rust, white mold and leaf spots. This boils down to more productivity because, in three years of studies, Fox Xpro delivered 3 more bags per hectare on average compared to its main competitors.
As for insects that are difficult to control, such as bedbugs, Bayer will present to producers the insecticide Curbix 200 SC, which acts to control these insects in two ways: through ingestion and, mainly, through contact, providing a high shock effect and prolonged period of control.