Bayer is stepping up the rollout of new crop-protection and seed technologies as it seeks to bring 10 products with peak annual sales potential of at least 500 million euros to market over the next decade.
Two of the products — Plenexos insecticide and the Preceon Smart Corn System — are already being commercialized, while Bayer expects to launch its new Vyconic soybean trait in the United States and Canada next year and Intacta 5+1 in Brazil for the 2027/2028 growing season.
The pipeline is central to Bayer’s efforts to revive growth in its Crop Science business, alongside cost-cutting and expansion into new markets.
“We are delivering on the promises we made and bringing a new generation of game-changing products to farmers. By connecting seed and crop protection innovation we can deliver whole-farm solutions that help growers manage risk, capture yield potential and improve return on investment,” said Rodrigo Santos, Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and Head of the Crop Science Division.
“We pursue a very diligent and differentiated strategy for each of our segments, addressing different growth dynamics, farmer needs, and regional and competitive dynamics. Because we have scale, we see having these different business segments together as a significant strategic advantage – one that plays out in what we innovate and how we can serve growers.”
Preceon, Bayer’s digitally enabled short-stature corn system, is already being commercialized in Mexico, Italy, Spain and the United States. Its commercial rollout in Argentina is set to begin this year.
The system is designed to help farmers manage weather and agronomic risks while allowing higher planting densities and easier access for standard farm equipment during the growing season. Bayer is targeting adoption across 26 million acres by 2035.
Plenexos, meanwhile, has been introduced in Colombia and is due to launch in Mexico, Brazil and the United States. The insecticide targets sucking pests in crops including soy, cotton, fruits and vegetables.
Bayer says farmers can use up to 75% less active ingredient than with other products to control pests, which it says can also help protect pollinators and beneficial insects. The product is expected to reach peak sales of 500 million euros by the mid-2030s.
Bayer expects Vyconic to become the industry's first soybean trait stack with tolerance to five herbicides. The company says it will give growers more weed-control options as herbicide resistance becomes increasingly difficult to manage.
Vyconic will be introduced in soybean varieties that have demonstrated yield gains of more than two bushels per acre, according to Bayer. The company expects strong adoption and plans to follow with its HT5 technology, with a goal of regaining soybean trait leadership in North America by 2032.
In Brazil, Intacta 5+ will combine five herbicide tolerances with new insect-protection traits tailored to the market.
Bayer expects its soybean trait portfolio, including future herbicide-tolerance and insect-protection technologies, to generate peak sales of more than 3 billion euros.
Other blockbuster candidates include fourth-generation corn rootworm protection and Icafolin, a new herbicide that Bayer expects could generate 750 million euros in peak sales by the mid-2030s.
Bayer is also using artificial intelligence and genome editing to speed development of new seed and crop-protection technologies.
The company says its AI-enabled precision breeding platform doubles the historical rate of genetic improvement while cutting time to market threefold. Bayer currently introduces 400 to 500 new hybrids and varieties each year.
Genome editing is being used to develop soybean varieties with improved plant architecture, addressing the tendency of taller, higher-yielding plants to lean or fall over.
In crop protection, Bayer’s AI-powered CropKey platform is being used to identify new modes of action and design targeted molecules. The company says more than 15 novel modes of action are currently in its research pipeline.
One broad-spectrum soybean fungicide developed using CropKey has advanced to Phase II and has blockbuster potential, Bayer said.
“Whether in seeds, traits or crop protection innovation, AI is becoming a core enabler of Bayer’s innovation model, helping us advance discovery, improve development efficiency and translate biological insights into differentiated products for growers faster,” said Mike Graham, Head of Crop Science R&D.
“Our advantage is that our teams work from the same biological insights, enabling us to combine expertise across disciplines and accelerate innovation.”
Bayer is also expanding into biofuel crops such as camelina, winter oilseed rape and CoverCress™, as well as hybrid wheat. The company expects to begin selling hybrid wheat in Europe and North America in the early 2030s.
The moves form part of Bayer’s Five-Year Framework for Crop Science, which targets above-market growth and more than 3.5 billion euros of incremental sales at constant currency through the end of the decade.
Bayer said it has so far delivered almost 400 million euros in cost reductions, including the divestment of five active ingredients and the discontinuation of more than 100 crop-protection formulations.
Inventory reductions of 500 million euros are also helping the company work toward its goal of generating more than 3 billion euros in free operating cash flow by 2029.
“Our innovation strategy and our Five-Year Framework are built on execution,” said Rodrigo Santos. “We are making progress against the commitments we have made, and are set to lead the industry and bring value to our customers and shareholders by delivering differentiating solutions that growers around the world need.”
