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Jack Kent, Arkansas

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With his two sons — the sixth generation of Kent farmers — Jack Kent raises cotton, soybeans and rice. He shares his gratitude for those who worked hard so he can farm, and he pledges to do the same for his sons, who want to continue the family farming legacy. After learning more about the Enlist® technology, Jack says, it was a natural fit for his farm. Last year, he grew both cotton and soybeans with the Enlist® trait. Impressed by the technology, especially the pigweed control, he is raising Enlist® cotton and Enlist E3® soybeans again in 2018.

 

Weed-Free Fields Help Cotton, Soybeans Excel

Jack Kent estimates it’s been about six weeks since the last significant rainfall on his fields of Enlist E3® soybeans and PhytoGen® cotton with the Enlist® trait. To help out the crops, he’s turned on the irrigation system.

“The cotton looks beautiful,” Kent says. “These new PhytoGen varieties are amazing. This year, we’re headed toward another successful cotton yield.”

For Kent, pigweed is a perennial challenge. But he aims to reduce the glyphosate-resistant population over time with a program approach to weed control that includes multiple herbicide modes of action.

“Pigweed will never disappear. The wind, birds, etc., spread the seed,” Kent says. “We scout our fields and use Enlist™ herbicides in a program approach to keep weeds out of our fields.”

This year, Kent started his weed management program for Enlist® cotton with an application of Enlist One® herbicide tank-mixed with metolachlor to take care of any weeds at planting.

“We started out perfectly clean,” Kent says. He followed with a postemergence application of Enlist Duo® herbicide and then an application of Enlist One tank-mixed with glufosinate. For his Enlist E3 soybeans, Kent applied a preemergent herbicide followed by postemergence applications of Enlist Duo herbicide, then Enlist One herbicide plus glufosinate and then glufosinate alone.

The glufosinate tolerance is important to Kent because it adds another mode of action to his weed management program and enhances weed control in his fields.

With conventional soybeans across the road from his Enlist cotton, Kent’s herbicides needed to stay right on target. He diligently followed the label, adhering to wind restrictions and all other label requirements. Kent reports the applications went well, and the Enlist herbicides stayed where they were sprayed.

Next, he plans to apply Transform® insecticide to control plant bugs in his cotton, water the crops and that’s about it, he says.

“It is really a beautiful cotton crop. The crop is fruiting and retaining most of the fruit,” he says. “My wife jokes with me and tells me I have two really good days each year: The day we plant and the day we harvest. I’m looking forward to harvest.”

Genetics plus Enlist trait offer value to Arkansas farmer

PhytoGen® cottonseed genetics plus the weed control provided by Enlist™ herbicides excites Arkansas farmer.

Enlist™ Herbicides Work Hard for Hardworking Arkansas Farmer

Jack Kent is proud of his hardworking ancestors who built the farm he now stewards. This fifth-generation Arkansas cotton and soybean farmer knows one of his responsibilities is keeping the farm secure for future generations.

 Technologies are helping him thrive instead of simply survive. And one technology that Kent values is in the Enlist™ weed control system.

“At one time, there were no herbicides or insecticides,” he explains. “We’re getting benefits of new technologies that are really superb. They’re making our lives and viability as a business much easier.”

For Kent, like most Southern farmers, weed control is a big challenge to achieving consistently high yield. Palmer amaranth is particularly troublesome.

“Enlist herbicides are going to allow me to control our worst weed,” he says. “We need herbicides that will stay where we put them when we apply according to the label. We used Enlist Duo herbicide this year on a limited basis and had absolutely no problems with any drift or gassing up and moving around.”

Kent points out that weeds can reduce yield, eating into income and threatening profitability. A herbicide that controls problem weeds and stays where it’s sprayed is valuable. The value increases when you can use the herbicide on elite varieties to help protect yield potential and boost income.

Kent says the Enlist crops he has planted are elite.

“The Enlist cotton varieties and the Enlist E3 soybean varieties we grew were excellent yielders,” he reports. “The soybeans were planted later than we would normally plant, but I was amazed at the yield.”

Even in a field with a notoriously bad Palmer amaranth problem, Kent says, Enlist Duo herbicide excelled.

“So far, the Enlist system has absolutely been bulletproof,” he says. “It has done everything it’s supposed to do. I can’t say enough good things about that product. It’s the best herbicide that I have ever seen in my life.” 

Kent is anxious to try Enlist One® herbicide on his Enlist cotton this year. He sees opportunities to take advantage of tank-mix flexibilities to ensure he’s using multiple modes of action to control weeds and limit the development of resistant weeds. It’s one more way he’s working to keep the farm successful for coming generations.

Jack Kent

Enlist crop
Soybeans, Cotton

Problem weeds
Pigweed

Management practices
Minimum tillage, Irrigated

 

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