Monsanto received import approval from China on Roundup Ready 2 Xtend Soybeans. That means a full commercial launch is set for 2016.

“It’s great news for farmers and the industry,” says John Combest, Product Communications Manager with Monsanto Company. Another option for soybean farmers is good news, but there is a catch.

Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans tolerate both glyphosate and dicamba herbicide, but approval to use dicamba herbicide over the top is not approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA is in the late stages of the review process, but approval timing is uncertain.

EPA approval for dicamba over the top is just one more hurdle for the system.

ONE OUT OF TWO: Farmers will be able to purchase and plant Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans this year. Unfortunately, they will not be able to use dicamba over the top until EPA approval is final.

Combest explains a Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean launch has been in the works since launching the Xtend branch in March 2012. The original soybean launch date was 2014. “The silver lining to the regulatory delays is that our breeders have had more time to work with these products and work with this trait. They’ve had time to add some quality traits into the soybean product,” says Combest. “If you’re a soybean farmer, you have a lot more options in 2016 than had we launched in 2014.”

Related: USDA approves Monsanto's dicamba-tolerant GMO soy, cotton traits

Monsanto’s Asgrow, Channel and regional brands, along with Corn States licensees, will introduce more than 70 soybean products across eight maturity groups. Combest notes some products will include resistance to nematodes and phytophthora root rot. 

Even without the final component of the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean system, Combest is confident farmers “will benefit from the germplasm and what’s in the seed”.

As for giving the full system a test drive, farmers will need to wait for the green light. Combest strongly advises following label directions and working with a local seed dealer and agronomist to finalize a herbicide program, including residuals. A herbicide program that doesn’t include over-the-top dicamba quite yet.