Dozens of journalists from around the globe attended the BASF Global Press Conference last week in Ludwigshafen, Germany, including several from the United States.
Given the opportunity to speak with BASF Crop Protection president Markus Heldt, the journalists were most interested in finding out what his thoughts were on the negotiations between Bayer and Monsanto – and he had much the same answer that representatives from those companies have at this time. “It’s really too early to consider the consequences,” said Heldt. “We don’t comment on rumors on competitors.” However, Heldt did say that there are anti-trust concerns and BASF is continuing to watch the process.
Heldt was more interested in talking about the investments that BASF Crop Protection is making in its product portfolio as division sales increased by 75% over last decade and working toward the approval of the dicamba formulation Engenia. “We are the largest dicamba producer in the world,” said Heldt. “We will be a supplier to other companies but we will also market and position our own dicamba-based technology in cotton and soybeans, that’s where Engenia is fitting.” He further discussed some of the stewardship issues that have developed this year with farmers using other dicamba formulations with already approved dicamba-tolerant crops.
Listen to the U.S. ag journalists conversation with Heldt here: Interview with Markus Heldt, BASF