This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to deregulate Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist corn and soybean traits in the United States.

With the USDA action, the ball now goes to the Environmental Protection Agency for registration of Enlist Duo herbicide, the companion herbicide to the Enlist traits. Approval for Enlist Duo is expected in the near future.

The Enlist traits are part of the Enlist Weed Control System, a new trait and herbicide technology. USDA’s decision applies to the Enlist corn, Enlist soybean and Enlist E3 soybean traits. Enlist E3 soybeans are being developed through a collaboration between MS Technologies and Dow AgroSciences.

Resistant weeds more than doubled since 2009 and infest approximately 70 million acres of American farmland, challenging farmers’ ability to raise a healthy crop. “Enlist will help farmers increase their productivity to meet the growing demand for a safe and affordable food supply,” said Tim Hassinger, president, Dow AgroSciences. “We’ve used the latest science and technology to address problem weeds. Enlist will be a very effective solution and we’re pleased to have this technology one step closer to the farmgate.”

“America’s soybean farmers welcome (the) decision by USDA to deregulate Enlist Duo. As the problem of weed resistance spreads across the soybean growing regions of the U.S., this solution presents another integral mode of action with which farmers can fight yield-robbing weeds,” said American Soybean Association President and Iowa farmer Ray Gaesser. “USDA deserves a great deal of credit for recognizing delays in the biotech approvals process and working to address them. Our attention now shifts to final EPA registration of the Enlist Duo herbicide, and to approvals in key soybean export markets. For new tools like Enlist Duo to be implemented and realized, we need to have approvals in key U.S. soy export markets since approximately 60 percent of the U.S. soy crop is exported.”

“Gaining approval for this important technology has been a long, hard fought battle,” said NCGA Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team Chair Jim Zimmerman, a farmer from Rosendale, Wis. “It is important that farmers continue to gain access to the tools that they need in the field through a science-based, timely regulatory system. We look forward to similar results for other herbicide systems in the future.”

Commercial intentions for Enlist in 2015 will be provided after the EPA has issued its decision on Enlist Duo herbicide.

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