Sudden Death Syndrome Making its Mark in Soybeans
I couldn’t cut it as a farmer—for a multitude of reasons—but primarily, I couldn’t stomach the business risks involved. There are risks such as weather and disease that are completely out of your hands no matter how much forethought and planning you do. It appears that U.S. soybean farmers are facing one such risk this [...]
A Picture of a Reduced Refuge Concept is Worth…
A few weeks back, I wrote a post attempting to explain simply in words the difference between current and future corn products offering a reduced refuge. (“Refuge in the Bag: Will that be one bag or two?”) I reviewed Monsanto’s current Genuity® VT Triple PROTM and Genuity® SmartStax TM products versus Pioneer’s Optimum® AcreMaxTM 1 [...]
GM Canola on the Loose? Some Points to Consider
Have you ever seen a canola plant? It’s a very pretty crop produced for its oil and distinguished by its bright yellow blooms. From a purely aesthetic point of view, it’s not a bad plant to find growing as a weed along the roadside, which often happens. Some probably even mistake it for a wildflower. [...]
Hybrids vs. Heirlooms
If there is something good to come out of the Internet chatter on Monsanto’s donation of hybrid seed to Haiti, then perhaps it is this: More discussion and explanation of the difference between heirloom and hybrid seeds. George Ball wrote a guest column for the Des Moines Register called “A Juicy Debate: Hybrids vs. Heirlooms.” [...]
Refuge in the Bag: Will That Be One Bag or Two?
Seed companies—including Monsanto—have been developing the concept of “refuge in the bag,” or RIB for short, for a number of years now. The goal is to make refuge compliance for insect-protected (B.t.) crops easier and simpler for farmers. Today, for most products, the U.S. EPA requires a corn farmer to set aside a percentage of [...]
Europe Proposes Changes to GMO Approvals
The European Commission announced today that they are proposing new rules for GMO approvals. The new rules would give each of the 27 EU member states the right to grow, restrict or ban biotech crops in their respective countries. The EU Commission would still study health effects of the crops under the current system. Currently, [...]
Agriculture Biotech Means More Yield, Less (Greenhouse)Gas
I have it on my long to-do list to start a series about yield and why it matters. I’ve made the point with some of my colleagues that although yield is a positive term for farmers, it doesn’t resonate much with the general public. That’s because 1) it’s primarily agriculture terminology and 2) our American [...]
Supreme Court Decision on Biotech Alfalfa – Who Wins?
The big news kicking off the week is the U.S. Supreme Court’s 7-1 ruling (7-1!) to reverse a lower court’s ban on Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa product.Then, surprisingly, the Center for Food Safety issued a statement mid-day claiming victory. According to CFS, they are “celebrating” today the victory of a 7-1 ruling against them. I guess maybe CFS runs with a glass half-full mentality.
Five Answers on Monsanto’s Haiti Seed Donation
Since announcing Monsanto’s $4 million seed donation to Haitian farmers on May 13, there have been some questions and some inaccuracies regarding details of the gift. We covered some of the answers in this initial blog post, which primarily addressed how the donation came about and noted the seeds were hybrids not biotech (GMO). Monsanto [...]
Monsanto Donates Corn and Vegetable Seed to Haiti
It’s been four months since the ground shook in Haiti. A few weeks after that catastrophic event, the World Economic Forum was held in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss a variety of global issues, including the outlook for agriculture. Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant and Executive Vice President Jerry Steiner attended the event and had conversations with [...]
Roundup-Resistant “Superweeds” In the News
There was a story today in the New York Times (“Farmers Cope with Roundup-Resistant Weeds”) about glyphosate-resistant weeds, or as the headline states – Roundup-resistant weeds. (Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup. Its success has made the two interchangeable similar to the case of facial tissue and the brand name Kleenex). This is the [...]
Roundup Ready Alfalfa and the Supreme Court – the End of GMOs?
Today, Roundup Ready Alfalfa gets its day before the U.S. Supreme Court. And thousands of farmers will be watching and waiting—including the 5,500 farmers who planted approximately 260,000 acres of Roundup Ready alfalfa prior to the injunction. This is significant because it’s the first time a biotech or genetically modified crop has gone before the [...]
What’s for dinner in 2050? Monsanto Talks Ag & Food at Fortune Brainstorm Green
This week in Southern California, a diverse group of political, not-for-profit organizations and business leaders are sitting down at Fortune Brainstorm Green to brainstorm ideas and approaches on how to work together to feed, clothe and fuel human activity and to do so in a sustainable way.
Reflection on Earnings
On Wednesday morning, I sat with my coffee cup in hand and listened via Webcast to our CEO Hugh Grant talk with investors and analysts about Monsanto’s second quarter earnings. At the same time, I had my Tweetdeck and Google Reader up to scan and follow the latest comments from our farmer customers. It was [...]
Farm Mom – A View from Here
Note from Mica: With our America’s Farmers Farm Mom of the Year contest in full swing with over 170 submissions so far, I asked my good friend and colleague Tami Craig Schilling to write a guest post for the blog, reflecting on what it means to be a farm mom. Tami is a full-time Monsanto [...]
Monsanto Supports Independent Research on Seed Products
Last summer, Scientific American ran an editorial criticizing seed companies for inhibiting independent research of GM (biotech) crops. The editorial was prompted by public comments from university scientists to the EPA, who stated they felt the contractual agreements required for purchasing commercial seed prohibited them from conducting their research. Not long after the article ran, [...]
Online Coverage of the USDA/DOJ Workshop
Seven hundred people are expected at today’s joint USDA/DOJ workshop on “Issues of Concern to Farmers,” in Ankeny, Iowa. Event organizers are answering questions and completing last-minute preparations. There is a lot of anticipation and wonder over what today will look like. I landed yesterday in a still wintry Des Moines and will be one [...]
Monsanto Employees Come Through for Those in Need
Charitable giving is an element of good citizenship. Today, Monsanto was named one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens. It’s a nice recognition for the company, but I chose to focus on the global citizenship of our employees. On this past Saturday morning, I checked my Facebook account over a cup of coffee and saw [...]
They’re Planting Biotech What?? Where??
But more interesting to me, are the answers to the “where?” and “what?” questions. As in, where are farmers planting biotech crops and what are they planting? Reviewing the list, I see countries that I haven’t seen before as well as new products that I haven’t heard of (blue roses anyone?). Here’s some tidbits that [...]
Blue Jacket Pride
Who knew the FFA was so cool? I certainly didn’t, growing up in suburban St. Louis where my high school had 1,500 kids but no FFA chapter (or any agricultural education, for that matter). I didn’t even know that farming—or agriculture—was a career option. But now, agriculture is hot because of a renewed interest in [...]
video: Why Do I Work At Monsanto?
Some days, I ask myself that question. And it’s not always in a “this is a great place to work!” kind of way. Don’t get me wrong…I wholeheartedly agree with Fortune’s ranking of Monsanto as one of its “100 Best Companies to Work For.”The competitive salary, excellent benefits, career opportunities, flexible work hours, professional development [...]
Monsanto News Lowdown
There is a lot of news at Monsanto this week. Here is a quick read of everything that is going on. Corn Farmers Saved $50M in Insurance Premiums by Planting Biotech And on it goes…Monsanto vs. DuPont Roundup Ready® Alfalfa Goes to the Supreme Court Calling All Rice and Wheat Breeders
Pipeline Progress: Eleven Steps Closer
Yesterday, we moved a step closer. Actually, 11 steps closer. Every January, in conjunction with the first quarter financial results, Monsanto gives an update on the research and development status of our breeding and biotech traits. The update provides a look at projects that have advanced and new projects that have been added to the [...]
Monsanto Public Comments to DOJ Available On-line
Today, we posted on the Monsanto.com Web site, the official public comments we submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the upcoming workshops on competition in Agriculture. The DOJ and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are holding joint workshops on competition this year. The agencies have invited agribusiness to participate in these workshops and [...]
