Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
February 2,  2001

Aventis CropScience today announced that it is offering selected Gustafson seed protection products as part of its Grower Dividends customer reward program for the 2001 growing season. 

The agreement allows growers who buy Puma(R) or Cheyenne(R) herbicides to earn additional savings when they purchase any of three popular Gustafson products. The seed treatments join 16 other Aventis products -- including Bronate(R), Betamix(R), Progress(R) and Liberty(R) herbicides -- already in the Grower Dividends portfolio. 

The savings, paid in HARVEST PARTNERS(R) award credits, can be redeemed for valuable rewards offered through the HARVEST PARTNERS(R) preferred customer program.* 

"We are pleased to be working with Gustafson to provide a complete portfolio of high-quality products to help meet the needs of wheat, durum and barley growers," said David Feist, cereals product lead for Aventis. 

The three Gustafson seed protectants available through Grower Dividends are Raxil(R) MD fungicide, RTU(R)-Vitavax(R)-Thiram fungicide, and Vitavax(R)- Thiram-Lindane fungicide-insecticide. 

"Our seed-applied protectants provide wide-spectrum protection against diseases that are of importance to growers. Our flowable Vitavax formulations have been proven throughout many years of use under a range of conditions. Raxil MD goes a step further to provide comprehensive disease protection, combined with unique, user-friendly formulation," said Glen Karaffa, product manager with Gustafson. 

"Now, through Grower Dividends, growers can obtain a complete pest- management program -- from seed protectants to superior weed control -- from the same source," he added. 

For more information about Grower Dividends and the Gustafson seed treatments available through the program, please visit www.cerealexperts.com  or call 1-888-AVENTIS (1-888-283-6847). 

* Offer paid in HARVEST POINTS(R) award credits. $1.00 equals 100 HARVEST POINTS(R). Must be a member of HARVEST PARTNERS(R) preferred customer program.

Puma, Cheyenne, Bronate, Betamix, Progress and Liberty are registered trademarks of the Aventis Group. Raxil is a registered trademark of Bayer AG, Germany. Vitavax is a registered trademark of Uniroyal Chemical Company. HARVEST PARTNERS is a registered trademark of BASF. As with any crop protection product, always read and follow label instructions. 

Company news release
N3295