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Syngenta US News

New hybrids and varieties give farmers more choice in 2021

Syngenta expands NK® corn and soybean portfolios

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., USA, Feb. 26, 2020 – Whether it’s unpredictable weather or the appearance of new pests and diseases, farming remains as challenging as ever. To help farmers minimize risk and maximize potential return on investment despite these curveballs, Syngenta is releasing 11 new NK® corn hybrids and 21 new NK soybean varieties for the 2021 growing season.

Backed by the extensive research and development capabilities of Syngenta, NK breeders tapped into data, analytics and agronomic expertise to bring these products to market.

“Because of the ongoing challenges faced by farmers, it’s necessary that we constantly look ahead for ways to accommodate their needs and mitigate risk,” said Quinn Showalter, NK head of sales. “By combining the latest in seed technology with top-of-the-line genetics, NK is able to continue to add products to our lineup that we know will withstand some of the toughest conditions.”

Elite corn genetics to help meet agronomic needs
The reinvigorated NK corn portfolio offers high-yielding performance protected by industry-leading traits, helping farmers maximize their whole-farm ROI potential. Bred from one of the industry’s largest and most diverse germplasm pools and equipped with industry-leading Agrisure® traits, NK hybrids fit the unique challenges of farms across the U.S. 

“Bred to meet farmers’ local needs, the new NK hybrids are more competitive than ever, with strong agronomic packages driving winning yields,” said Joe Bollman, NK corn product manager. “Ongoing innovation is allowing us to develop hybrids that can match any environment and combat any conditions – which, as last year reminded everyone, could be both expected and unexpected."

The new hybrids build on another strong season for NK corn. Despite the record-breaking environmental challenges of 2019, NK hybrids outperformed key competitors in the Corn Belt and beyond. For example:

  • In South Dakota and Minnesota, NK0243-5122 E-Z Refuge® brand outyielded DeKalb hybrids by 10.7 bu/A across 43 comparisons and Pioneer® hybrids by 7.3 bu/A across 40 comparisons.
  • In Iowa, NK0472-5222 E-Z Refuge brand outyielded Pioneer hybrids by 16.5 bu/A in 22 comparisons.
  • In Illinois, NK1082-3330A E-Z Refuge brand outyielded DeKalb DKC59-06 by 16.5 bu/A in 17 comparisons.

Expansive soybean trait portfolio offers more choice
The new varieties join a lineup of consistently high-yielding varieties equipped with today’s most in-demand herbicide technology choices. The NK soybean portfolio offers the industry’s broadest choice of herbicide traits to manage tough-to-control weeds, including Enlist E3® soybeans, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® and LibertyLink® GT27™.

This is made possible by a state-of-the-art trait conversion capability that enables Syngenta to bring the latest, most desirable trait packages to market with the newest genetics. Combine these trait offerings with more than 50 years of breeding experience, and NK is able to offer farmers products that protect soybean yield potential in even the toughest of environments.

“We’re investing directly into our breeding program so that we can deliver products that keep up with and answer farmers’ needs,” said Eric Miller, NK soybean product manager. “By setting the standard for soybean trait choice, the new NK varieties will help farmers minimize risk and maximize yield potential no matter their location.”

In 2019, NK soybeans outyielded key competitors across the U.S. For example:

  • S14-U9X brand had strong showings in several areas. The variety outyielded Asgrow® products by 4.1 bu/A in 19 Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota comparisons, 1.8 bu/A in 58 South Dakota & western Minnesota comparisons, and 1.6 bu/A in 12 Upper Midwest comparisons.
  • S28-E3 brand outyielded all Asgrow varieties by 5.2 bu/A across 45 comparisons in southern and eastern Nebraska, and Pioneer varieties by 6 bu/A across 18 comparisons in the same area.

Value beyond seed 
NK is accelerating innovation to address the increasing challenges for farmers and the environment by delivering unique opportunities that add value beyond seed.

One such offering is Enogen® corn, available through NK retailers in select locations. These unique hybrids add benefits for farmers marketing grain to ethanol plants or producing grain or silage for livestock feed.

Another is the NK Seed Analyzer, a tool that taps into decades of data to provide unbiased, field-specific recommendations. The adaptability of the platform allows retailers and farmers to proactively plan for weather volatility, soil variability and planting specifications by seeing actual results from numerous sources.

NK also is helping farmers take profit potential to new heights through 0% APR1 financing offers from John Deere Financial and Rabo AgriFinance.

To learn more, contact a local NK retailer or visit www.NKseeds.com.

Join the conversation online – connect with Syngenta at Syngenta-us.com/social.

1Offer valid on qualifying purchases made between Sept. 1, 2019 to Aug. 31, 2020. Offer limited to Multi-Use Account Agricultural customers with an available Special Terms credit limit. Subject to the Multi-Use Account credit agreement and approval. Fixed 0% APR from the date of purchase, which may be prior to delivery, until December 2020, when the entire transaction amount and accrued interest is due in full. Regular Multi-Use Account rates will apply after that date. Offer may be limited to qualifying products. $3,500 minimum purchase required.
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About Syngenta
Syngenta is one of the world’s leading agriculture companies. Our ambition is to help safely feed the world while taking care of the planet. We aim to improve the sustainability, quality and safety of agriculture with world class science and innovative crop solutions. Our technologies enable millions of farmers around the world to make better use of limited agricultural resources. With 28,000 people in more than 90 countries we are working to transform how crops are grown. Through partnerships, collaboration and The Good Growth Plan we are committed to improving farm productivity, rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com. Follow us on X at www.twitter.com/Syngenta and www.twitter.com/SyngentaUS.

Media Contacts:
Kelsey Hart
331.220.5756
kelsey.hart@syngenta.com

Molly Schorsch
312.648.6700
mschorsch@gscommunications.com

Web Resources:
NK Corn
Agrisure 
Enogen Corn
NK Soybeans
John Deere Financial
Rabo AgriFinance
NK Seeds
Syngenta Newsroom
Syngenta Seeds
Syngenta U.S.​​​​​​​

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This document may contain forward-looking statements, which can be identified by terminology such as ‘expect’, ‘would’, ‘will’, ‘potential’, ‘plans’, ‘prospects’, ‘estimated’, ‘aiming’, ‘on track’ and similar expressions. Such statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from these statements. For Syngenta, such risks and uncertainties include risks relating to legal proceedings, regulatory approvals, new product development, increasing competition, customer credit risk, general economic and market conditions, compliance and remediation, intellectual property rights, implementation of organizational changes, impairment of intangible assets, consumer perceptions of genetically modified crops and organisms or crop protection chemicals, climatic variations, fluctuations in exchange rates and/or commodity prices, single source supply arrangements, political uncertainty, natural disasters, and breaches of data security or other disruptions of information technology. Syngenta assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors.

©2020 Syngenta. 2001 Butterfield Road, Suite 1600, Downers Grove, IL 60515. Important: Always read and follow label and bag tag instructions; only those labeled as tolerant to glufosinate may be sprayed with glufosinate ammonium-based herbicides.

LibertyLink®, Liberty® and the Water Droplet logo are registered trademarks of BASF. GT27™ is a trademark of M.S. Technologies and BASF. HERCULEX® and the HERCULEX Shield are trademarks of Dow AgroSciences, LLC. HERCULEX Insect Protection technology by Dow AgroSciences. ENLIST E3® soybean technology is jointly developed with Dow AgroScience LLC and MS Technologies LLC. The ENLIST trait and ENLIST Weed Control System are technologies owned and developed by Dow Agrosciences LLC. ENLIST® and ENLIST E3® are trademarks of Dow AgroSciences LLC.

Roundup Ready 2 Yield®, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend®, Genuity®, Genuity and Design, Genuity Icons, YieldGard VT Pro® and Design are registered trademarks used under license from Monsanto Technology LLC. Under federal and local laws, only dicamba-containing herbicides registered for use on dicamba-tolerant varieties may be applied. See product labels for details and tank mix partners. Golden Harvest® and NK® Soybean varieties are protected under granted or pending U.S. variety patents and other intellectual property rights, regardless of the trait(s) within the seed. The Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® and Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® traits may be protected under numerous United States patents. It is unlawful to save soybeans containing these traits for planting or transfer to others for use as a planting seed. Only dicamba formulations that employ VaporGrip® Technology are approved for use with Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® soybeans. Only 2,4-D choline formulations with Colex-D® Technology are approved for use with Enlist E3® Soybeans. The trademarks or service marks displayed or otherwise used herein are the property of a Syngenta Group Company. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. More information about Agrisure Duracade® is available at http://www.biotradestatus.com/.