The 2018 soybean season is upon us. So what’s your bet? Will this be one of those dreaded, high pressure Sclerotinia sclerotiorum years with disastrous white mold losses for soybeans? Or maybe — just maybe — disease pressure will be light enough to keep your losses to a minimum.

Maybe. Our fingers are crossed, because at this point in the season, it’s anyone’s guess. There are, however, a few things we know for certain.

Experts agree that for maximum soybean yields, white mold must be prevented before it occurs, not merely controlled after the fact. Still, every season, there’s a degree of uncertainty, resulting in some growers rolling the dice that white mold won’t rear its ugly head, choosing a “wait and see” approach, before making a fungicide decision.

Sipcam Agro wants to help these growers get off the fence this season with a brand new, no-risk fungicide program — Break the Mold.

With this innovative program, soybean growers decide early on to invest in a preventative strategy with Contans^® WG and Andiamo^® 230 fungicides, knowing their investment is risk free. If they do not cover the cost of the program on their treated acres versus untreated acres with a positive yield difference, Sipcam will refund the dollar value difference between yield value and the cost of Contans^® WG and Andiamo^® 230 purchased.

“Break the Mold could be a real game changer for soybean growers this season,” says Doug Phelps, VP of Value-Added Solutions. “There’s no guessing — no need for crystal balls. They just follow the program. If the treated acre yields aren’t enough to cover the product cost, we will cover it for them.”

Contans (Coniothyrium minitans) is a preventative fungicide applied in early spring with pre-emergent herbicides, or post-harvest, which allows it to start attacking the source of the disease in the soil - breaking the white mold cycle before it can begin.

Andiamo (tetraconazole) is a highly effective, crop-safe triazole that’s easy to mix in a low volume of water for foliar applications. Notably, it can be tank-mixed with many herbicides and does not produce incidences of green stem in soybeans.

Both are proven performers, anchored by solid field trial results and customer testimonials.

“For growers, Break the Mold is a win-win program,” continues Phelps. “By significantly reducing their risk on the front end with Contans, growers are in a much better position to manage any white mold on the back-end with Andiamo.”

With the Break the Mold program, Sipcam is betting that growers will see significantly increased yields. For complete program requirements and details on to enroll, growers should call (919) 600-5545, or click here.