During the Farm Progress Show, Bayer CropScience kicked off a new initiative called, “I Farm to Feed the World,” in an effort to raise awareness about the need to decrease global hunger amidst a growing population. I spoke with Mark Wrucke about the program and he said, “We’re a global organization and we realize ag has some real challenges coming. The population will continue to grow yet we’re really farming most of the arable land that available right now.”

He continued, “So it’s critically important we maximize our yield and grain quality on every acre we produce. It’s also critically important we maintain the lowest possible footprint in doing so.”

During the show, farmers from around the globe made pledges that they would maximize yields and grain quality while helping to minimize environmental impact. For every pledge, Bayer would donate $5 to one of four local food banks in the area mainly covered by Farm Progress. The pledges raised $6,680 for the food banks.

Knowing the challenges, I asked Wrucke what some of Bayer’s technologies were that would help to solve them. He said, “We’re very proud of the fact we consider ourselves to be the innovation company. We feel the best way to address these challenges in the future is through research.”

Bayer has released 28 new products in the marketplace in the last 10 years and will launch another nine new products by the end of 2012. Wrucke said many of these new products will have a much lower use rate and will be much less toxic to the environment.

To learn more about the “I Farm to Feel the World” initiative as well as to learn about their new products in the pipeline, listen to my interview with Mark Wrucke. You can also visit their website at www.bayercropscience.us.com. I Farm to Feed the World

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