Corteva spins off

THE machinations of businesses involved in agro-chemicals continues unabated – Corteva Agriscience formally spun off from DowDuPont this week.

It aims to cement a position as a leading, independent crop protection and seed company in its own right and according to its UK boss, Adrian Gough, ‘it was the culmination of more than a century of innovation and expertise in UK crop protection and seed.’

“The integrity of our heritage brands was hard-earned, but deserved for the depth and breadth of great products they delivered UK farmers. We will continue to build on that solid foundation to deliver new revolutionary solutions for our customers,” he said.

“We have the richest pipeline of new products in the industry, boasting recent ground-breaking active ingredients and new products to come in the next three years. This will be our core strength as we build our new business centred on maximising yields and profitability for farmers,” he pointed out.

Latest smartphone app

THE LATEST info on weeds and diseases can be at you fingertips thanks to the launch of a digital farming solutions package by BASF.

Its ‘Scouting’ app for farmers in the UK uses instant photo recognition, algorithm and data sharing technology, to accurately identify weed and disease threats in their fields. The supported crops include wheat, barley and oilseed rape.

Also, a community-based radar functionality shows farmers which threats are in their surrounding area.

“We know many farmers in the UK are eager to adopt new methods that can help them improve crop quality and increase yields,” said Louis Wells, of BASF. “With the new localised version of the xarvio Scouting app, we bring world-class expertise in digital farming technology, data analysis and artificial intelligence into the hands of growers across the UK.”

BASF agronomy managers will be demonstrating the Scouting app on their farm visits, when they will also be familialising farmers with the xarvio Field Manager, which will be launched in the UK in 2020.