In addition to licensing the Enlist corn trait to other seed companies, Enlist corn hybrids are immediately available from Dow seed companies such as Mycogen, Brodbeck, Dairyland, Pfister and Prairie Brand, the company said in a second, more detailed news release sent to DTN.

Enlist cotton will continue to be sold in PhytoGen varieties in 2018, and the company has soybean varieties ready to go as soon as final import approvals come through.

"Dow AgroSciences is ready for full commercialization of Enlist Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans and Enlist E3 soybeans and is considering options for the 2018 season as it awaits final import approvals from China and the European Union," the release said.

A Dow public relations spokesperson added that, "Dow AgroSciences is hopeful all traits in the final approval queue will be approved by the end of the 100 Days initiative based on the process outlined in the U.S. Dept. of Commerce progress report in May."

You can find that initiative, which outlines 10 economic cooperation agreements between China and the U.S., here: http://bit.ly/….

LONG ROAD TO COMMERCIALIZATION

In addition to international trait approval delays, Dow faced roadblocks to the full registration of its corresponding Enlist Duo herbicide. The herbicide was initially registered for use in cotton in 15 states in 2014.

Then, in 2015, EPA attempted to suspend Enlist Duo's registration due to questions over "synergistic" effects, or increased toxicity, of the combined ingredients. It took more than a year for the agency to review additional data from Dow. It was December of 2016 before EPA concluded no such synergy existed and expanded Enlist Duo's registration to corn and soybeans.

Enlist Duo is now registered for use on Enlist cotton, corn and soybean crops in 34 states in the U.S.

Those states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

See the Enlist Duo label, which includes some new application restrictions, here: http://bit.ly/….

See the news alert Dow released publically on the Enlist corn import approval here: http://bit.ly/….

Emily Unglesbee can be reached at Emily.unglesbee@dtn.com

Follow Emily Unglesbee on Twitter @Emily_Unglesbee

(PS/AG)

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