Direct Enterprises, Inc. (DEI) will have exclusive U.S. distribution rights for Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans developed by the University of Missouri (MU) breeding program in partnership with the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council (MSMC).
DEI will also distribute two glyphosate tolerant varieties and two conventional varieties to all soybean growing areas in the U.S. outside of Missouri. The Missouri Crop Improvement Association, headquartered in Columbia, Mo., will be the distributor for glyphosate tolerant and conventional varieties within the state of Missouri.
Development of the six varieties was made possible through research grants from MSMC, funded by soybean farmers and the soy checkoff.
DEI has been licensing and distributing soybean varieties to companies throughout the Midwest since 1997. They work with numerous breeding organizations to source traited and non-traited soybean germplasm. DEI President Bill Haubner said “We are excited to now be able to offer our licensees unique soybean varieties with one of the most complete agronomic packages offered in the industry today, through our new partnership.”
The six soybean varieties Direct Enterprises will distribute have maturity ratings from 4.2 to 5.3. The glyphosate tolerant varieties include two with maturity ratings of 4.9 and 5.3. The two Roundup Ready 2 Yield varieties’ maturity ratings are 4.2 and 4.4. The two conventional varieties’ maturity ratings are 5.1 and 5.2.
During the 2016 growing season, foundation seed will be placed in commercial production and is expected to be ready for sale in time for the 2017 growing season.
Roundup Ready 2 Yield is a registered trademark of Monsanto Technology, LLC.