Syngenta introduces new stewardship tool for growers

Syngenta has introduced the Enogen Value Tracker, a new tool for Enogen® corn growers designed to simplify grain tracking. Beginning this year, the Enogen Value Tracker – a naturally derived, non-GMO purple tracer trait – will be included in select bags of Enogen hybrids. Syngenta intends to include the Enogen Value Tracker in all bags of Enogen seed over time.

 

During the growing season, the Enogen Value Tracker will appear as randomly dispersed purple plants across an Enogen field (inside the border rows) and will represent up to 5 percent of the plants in a given field. The grain produced from these purple (and neighboring) plants will be comprised of both yellow and purple kernels to make visually tracking Enogen corn easier from harvest through storage and processing. The purple kernels will also help make sure this high value grain is delivered to its intended destination. 

 

“Enogen corn is a win for the farmer, a win for the ethanol plant and a win for the consumer,” said Enogen grower Marc Mummelthei of Waverly, Iowa. “Anything that increases what corn can do for our country is a good thing. The Enogen Value Tracker will reinforce good stewardship practices and help growers more easily manage border rows and visually track Enogen grain from harvest through delivery to the ethanol plant.” 

 

Enogen growers are required to follow specific, yet simple stewardship guidelines to receive a 40 cents per bushel (on average) premium. These guidelines include planting non-Enogen border rows around an Enogen cornfield, cleaning out planters and combines, and dedicating bin space for all Enogen grain. According to Jack Bernens, head of Marketing for Enogen at Syngenta, this latest stewardship innovation will help reduce the chance of misdirecting Enogen grain. 

 

“Since the introduction of Enogen corn enzyme technology in 2011, Syngenta has voluntarily implemented comprehensive stewardship protocols to mitigate potential commercial concerns about Enogen corn affecting unintended processes,” Bernens said. “The Enogen Value Tracker offers growers a way to help make this simple, effective protocol even easier.” 

 

It is important to note that Enogen Value Tracker seed does not contain Enogen corn enzyme technology. Enogen seed bags containing the Enogen Value Tracker will include a physical mixture of approximately 95 percent Enogen seed and 5 percent Enogen Value Tracker seed.

 

In 2013, a desire to increase throughput and decrease energy usage led Merrill, Iowa-based Plymouth Energy to enter into a commercial agreement with Syngenta for use of Enogen corn enzyme technology. According to Plymouth Energy CEO Eamonn Byrne, corn growers and ethanol plants will appreciate the Enogen Value Tracker and the opportunity to simplify grain tracking it provides. “This new tool will give everyone comfort in helping to direct the correct grain to the correct system,” Byrne said. 

 

The Enogen Value Tracker is part of an ongoing Syngenta commitment to provide Enogen corn enzyme technology to the market in a manner that offers benefits to growers, ethanol plants and biofuels production, while respecting other uses of the corn crop.