“profitability and economic sustainability is the biggest challenge we have,” said steve verett, the executive vice president for plains cotton growers, with strategic environmental action playing a key role in overcoming those economic challenges.

one area that needs further action? education on sustainable practices, as a lack of it in the past has taken an environmental toll with an aquifer quickly drying up.

“there’s going to be a lot of things we need to be looking at, but the fact of the matter is we are transitioning into dryland agriculture,” verett said.

however, verett and other farmers are hopeful that new developments in seed production can allow them to continue with their levels of production.

janice person, the online engagement director for bayer, the multinational pharmaceutical company that just acquired monsanto last year, says less water-dependent cotton is something her company has been focusing heavily on. “our breeders have been working on that stuff for 20 years.”

past the issue of water scarcity, farmers are also facing the rise of weeds resistant to roundup—a popular herbicide produced by bayer, according to a report in the new york times in 2010.

herbicide-resistant weeds are a factor that have led to a reduction in more environmentally friendly practices like no-till farming. once resistant weeds move into a field, farmers often have to resort to more toxic chemicals or tilling, which leads to increased run off and erosion.

farmers “want to be economically viable, but leave what they have in as good or better shape than how they found it,” verett said.

the film is safe to handle in transport, storage, and application. it allows for reduced agrochemical usage due to its ease and precise application. the film requires no solvents and is non-flammable, and it begins its work using only water as the catalyst. as the application of the active ingredients is simply done by laying the film on the soil, there is a reduced risk of phytotoxicity for the crop, no drift of the agrochemicals in the environment, and no respiration hazard for operators and bystanders. the slow release of the active ingredients starts after the film has been laid and irrigation is turned on. the active ingredients are residue-free and are released within a period of approximately 14 days. therefore, the film is disposable and recyclable at the end of its service life. work gloves provide sufficient protection for operators to prevent dermal absorption of the encased active ingredients during film handling.

field tests conducted over the past 12 months have met or surpassed expectations and clearly demonstrated the advantages of the film over conventional spray application of agrochemicals in terms of reduced use of active ingredients, increased crop yields, and reduced overall costs for growers.

the film was co-developped by imaflex inc. and bayer innovation gmbh. for more, click here.

photo credit to bobolink.