Agro Perspectiva

Monsanto Statement on Arkansas Civil Investigative Demand

03.09.2010 09:18 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) — Agriculture is our only business at Monsanto, and we are committed to the success of farmers. That’s why we introduce new products only after we have thoroughly tested them and have the full confidence — backed by data — that they will deliver on farm. While Monsanto has not yet received a copy of the civil investigative demand (CID) from the Attorney General’s office, we have reviewed a copy of the press release distributed by his office. In reviewing that press release, we believe the Arkansas Attorney General’s comments are based on a misunderstanding of the yield advantages of Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield®. Test trial plots conducted in Arkansas in 2009 demonstrate that the technology delivered an average of 4 more bushels per acre when compared with the first-generation Roundup Ready® soybean technology. «Monsanto will cooperate with the Attorney General on this inquiry and continue to provide information on the benefits of Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans, including first-hand yield results from this year’s harvest,» said Scott Partridge, Chief Deputy General Counsel for Monsanto. The comments included in this press release are similar to a request the company received from the Attorney General’s office in West Virginia in June. In 2009, two West Virginia farmers and no Arkansas farmers planted the technology according to a preliminary review of sales data. «While we understand that DuPont/Pioneer is distributing misleading information on this technology to stakeholders, we believe the facts are clear — independent data and our own multiyear results show that Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield has a multi-year track record of delivering better yield to farmers,» Partridge said. Monsanto reaffirmed its confidence in this next-generation soybean technology. The company also confirmed that its records reflect no reported complaints with the technology this season. Each year, farmers choose from a wide range of products to use on farm — including Roundup Ready soybeans and Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans. In 2009, approximately 16,000 U.S. soybean farmers planted Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans on 1.6 million acres. The technology was adopted by more than twice as many U.S. farmers on 6 million acres this season. Ultimately, farmers determine what seed they want to plant and continue to use in subsequent seasons based on their first-hand on-farm experience. Monsanto noted that the three-year rolling average yield benefit of Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield was 3.6 bushels or more than 7 percent when compared to Roundup Ready soybean offerings sold by competitors. This data was collected across more 40,000 comparisons conducted between 2007 and 2009. The Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean trait won 73 percent of F. I. R.S.T. trials, which are third-party farmer variety trials, conducted in the 2009 growing season.