Jay Wilder farms in the Brazos Bottom.

“We need to use a little of our older technologies, as far as pre-emergent herbicides, that type stuff, and then come in with the Dicamba products as the cotton is growing to catch anything that got by the Round-Up. It’ll be nice to have different chemistry to use on weeds that are resistant to the Round-Up.”

Wilder says weed control isn’t optional.

“We wouldn’t have a crop. There would be nothing. It would be weeds, that’s it. And I don’t know about you but I don’t want to eat very many weeds.”

Miles Merrick works for Monsanto and says product research is continuous.

“In our research plots, we’ll have a plot of 15 or 20 different hybrids trying to determine which products fit well in each area.”

Wilder says you’ll find test plots on their farm on a regular basis.

“A lot of guys won’t participate in test trials, test plots, that kind of thing. We do one with cotton, milo, and soybeans every year. We’re doing them the way we would do them if they were in full production, and that’s been a benefit, and we’re able to keep up. They’re changing varieties so often on us now, it’s hard to keep up, so that’s how we’re able not to rely solely on the salesman.”

And according to Merrick, there’s more new technology on the horizon.

“What we’ve seen from this drought gene, it’s able to allow this plant to take stress more, it’s going to boost the yield and the gene really works. Our goal is to have a gene inserted into our corn and I guess cotton as far as nitrogen use efficiency, I guess almost cutting our nitrogen use in-crop in half.”

And that’s the kind of technology that will be necessary to feed the world.