A free tool, accessible at cropstream.com, lets growers easily share their crop trait information with other growers, agronomists and applicators from their computer browser. Additionally, a mobile app allows users to view nearby crop tech traits to help manage the federal dicamba requirement of consulting a sensitive crop registry before spraying the herbicide. It’s free for anyone in agriculture to use; there are no hidden charges.

Cropstream is a free cloud-based service, built from the ground up to facilitate better communications among growers, seed dealers, ag retailers and manufacturers, says company president Tim Aughenbaugh. Cropstream displays posted crop traits on a map from either a browser or a smartphone for crop registry purposes.

“Cropstream lets growers quickly and easily share information about their crops. In less than one minute, growers can mark their field on a map and post information about the seed traits in their crops,” he says. “A database of over 10,000 seed varieties makes posting traits as simple as selecting the brand and hybrid/variety planted and confirming the trait. It protects your information by sharing only the trait, not the seed variety itself, and allows you to turn sharing on and off whenever desired.”

Visit cropstream.com to mark your fields and post your crop traits; then download the app in the Apple store to view fields on the go. An Android app will be available soon.

Headquartered in South Dakota, Cropstream is an independent ag technology provider focused on improving communication and sharing information to meet today’s crop production needs, Aughenbaugh says. “We are committed to supporting strong relationships and improving service across the entire channel,” he adds.

Dicamba sprayer system cleaner
In other news related to dicamba herbicide, Monsanto announces it has collaborated with Adjuvants Unlimited LLC to develop the first-ever agricultural sprayer system cleaner designed to deactivate dicamba. Adjuvants Unlimited, a developer and manufacturer of technologies for the crop protection industry, will bring this technology to market in 2018 through industry partners.

The new sprayer cleaner technology is different from other commercially available sprayer equipment cleaners, as it is based on a chemical process that deactivates certain pesticide active ingredients, including dicamba. This technology is designed to be used within the rinse and cleanout processes specified on current dicamba product labels and best management practices.

“Monsanto developed this product based on grower interest in new tools to help manage the use of multiple herbicide systems, including the Roundup Ready Xtend crop system,” says Ryan Rubischko, Monsanto’s dicamba lead. “This is a new mode of action for sprayer system cleaners and will provide growers an even better experience when used as part of the Roundup Ready Xtend system with XtendiMax herbicide with VaporGrip Technology, a restricted-use pesticide.”

Monsanto worked with Adjuvants Unlimited and academics the past few years to

test this technology prior to bringing it to market. “We’ve been testing this new product in university trials, and it has proven to be very effective at cleaning sprayer systems that contained dicamba tank-mixed with additional herbicide products,” says Dan Reynolds, a Mississippi State University weed scientist. “We’ve seen a significant reduction in the presence of dicamba when using this technology as part of the labeled sprayer cleanout process.”

Monsanto and Adjuvants Unlimited anticipate the initial product offering will be announced in coming weeks and available for the 2018 season, and additional branded products and distributors will be available in the future. For information on XtendiMax herbicide with VaporGrip Technology or the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System, visit roundupreadyxtend.com.

Sources: Cropstream, Monsanto