Bayer to Build Glufosinate-Ammonium Herbicide Plant

Posted by |15 May 2013

Bayer CropScience said it will construct a world-scale glufosinate-ammonium herbicide plant in the United States near Mobile, Alabama, as the company more than doubles production capacity for the AI.

Bayer, based in Monheim, Germany, said it expects the start-up of the new plant in the fourth quarter of 2015, in time for the 2016 growing season. “Discussions with the local authorities in Alabama are progressing well, and Bayer CropScience is confident that it will be able to initiate the next planning steps for the new facility soon,” it said in a statement.

“In planning this facility, we are responding to urgent calls by farmers and agronomists for an alternative weed control technology to help combat the increasing problem of weed resistance to glyphosate-based products,” said Liam Condon, Bayer CropScience CEO. “The use of glufosinate-ammonium, marketed as Liberty herbicide and used with LibertyLink seed, continues to grow as farmers experience the powerful performance benefits of this unique system for nonselective control of grass and broadleaf weeds. The rotation of crops, herbicide tolerant traits and herbicidal modes of action are important elements of a sustainable cropping approach,” he emphasized.

According to a 2012 Stratus Agri-Marketing survey of U.S. farmers, research has shown that nearly half of growers surveyed confirmed the existence of glyphosate-resistant weeds on their farms, up from 34% in 2011.