Agro Perspectiva

Monsanto Initiates Regular Product Performance Update to Provide Customer Resource During Harvest

21.09.2010 09:33 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) — As farmers continue the 2010 harvest and prepare for the 2011 season, Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) will begin providing regular 2010 harvest performance updates for its corn and soybean portfolio on its website. The online resource will provide farmers with more information as they evaluate the best products for their farm. Monsanto offers farmers the industry’s most extensive trait-and-germplasm product line-up to improve on-farm productivity and profitability. As harvest progresses, Monsanto will collect nationwide data on approximately 15,000 head-to-head comparisons for its branded corn and soybean seed-and-trait offerings, creating a resource to assist customers as they evaluate Monsanto product performance throughout this year’s harvest. Initial results suggest that Monsanto is delivering higher yields to farmers again this year, led by DEKALB corn hybrids. Highlights from the first harvest report include: Early indicators are demonstrating the continued performance of YieldGard VT Triple® relative to competitive offerings. YieldGard VT Triple continues to be a cornerstone product and popular choice in 2010 among customers. Initial reports from more than 2,000 comparisons through the core areas in the South-Central Corn Belt indicate YieldGard VT Triple’s performance is sustaining its overall yield advantages versus comparable competitive traits offerings. Genuity® VT Triple PRO trait, Monsanto’s new triple-trait technology offering, protects yield on-farm better than the competition. Monsanto’s preliminary yield trials, which include now more than 1,700 comparisons in the South, continue to demonstrate that Genuity VT Triple PRO provides a yield advantage of more than eight bushels per acre over competitors. This represents an improvement in performance for Monsanto products in this part of the country on top of the whole yield value that comes from the benefit of refuge reduction. As the data set expands to now include more than 500 early comparisons from the south central Corn Belt, the differential advantage of Genuity VT Triple PRO is continuing and demonstrating strong combined genetic and trait advantages relative to the competitive triple-stack offerings. Genuity® SmartStax® offers comprehensive insect protection. Agronomic evaluations conducted in 2010 indicate the Genuity SmartStax trait platform is delivering expected benefits on insect control, with more than 70 percent reduction in kernel damage versus refuge and competitive traits. To date, with less than 10 percent of the total expected Genuity SmartStax harvest completed, early indicators suggest some hybrids are delivering yields on par with YieldGard VT Triple, the industry’s leading triple corn technology, while others have shown yield variability below this YieldGard VT Triple technology. Monsanto will continue to monitor and track hybrid performance as additional data points are collected. The majority of the Genuity SmartStax product offerings and volume of 2010 sales were in the shorter-maturity regions in the Northern Corn Belt and are yet to be harvested. This year’s soybean harvest is less advanced. Monsanto is currently collecting initial reports from soybean plots harvested in the Southern region and expects to report on these findings as well as additional data over the next several weeks.