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Tag Archives: Anticompetitive practices under investigation

From the Farm- Farmer in Field of Corn

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 of the hundreds in the audience. I will be tweeting live coverage of the panels via my Twitter account @mica_MON using the hashtag #agworkshop. You can also get twitter coverage via our corporate account @MonsantoCo.

The law bloggers at Truth on the Market have … Full Article »

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Originally published
March 12, 2010 by Mica Veihman

The Difference Two Weeks Can Make

In comments submitted to the Department of Justice and the USDA, Pioneer Hi-Bred calls rival seed company Monsanto’s dominance in the corn and soybean trait markets “an overwhelming monopoly.”

– Brownfield Ag Network, Jan. 12, 2010

DuPont Chief Executive Ellen Kullman told analysts that President Paul Schickler and his Pioneer team “delivered on their commitment to improved profits and market share.”

“We expect the same results this year,” Kullman said.

The $13 billion U.S. seed industry is embroiled in what Kullman described Tuesday as “an incredibly competitive period.”

Schickler on Tuesday exulted in the company’s market share gains of … Full Article »

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Originally published
January 28, 2010 by Glynn Young

Monsanto Says DOJ Has Issued CID for Information on Soybean Trait Business

Monsanto announced today that the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a civil investigative demand (CID) requesting information on its soybean traits business. The DOJ is primarily seeking a confirmation that, as Monsanto has previously indicated, farmers and seed companies will continue to have access to the first-generation Roundup Ready® trait following patent expiry in 2014.

Please read our announcement here.

For more information on what a CID is and how it’s used by the DOJ, check out this 2008 FAQ written for the Yahoo-Google deal antitrust investigation.

More information on Monsanto and competition in the seed industry:

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Originally published
January 14, 2010 by Monsantoco

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 requested comments from the public. The comment period ran through the end of 2009.

You can access our comments here.

In addition to the public comments, a rebuttal to the American Antitrust Institute’s public paper, “Transgenic Seed Platforms: Competition Between a Rock and … Full Article »

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Originally published
January 5, 2010 by Mica Veihman

Monsanto Response to Associated Press Article Regarding Anti-Competitive Claims

This weekend’s Associated Press article on Monsanto’s licensing agreements with companies missed the mark on the real facts behind our business and our licensing approach, including:

  • Our business has grown tremendously over the years thanks to a number of factors – an early investment in biotechnology, adding new approaches to historic breeding, and a decision to broadly license the results of those investments to anyone who wanted them, including our biggest direct competitors. We understand this scale of success brings scrutiny.
  • The growth of our business cannot be attributed to any forced use by customers or to blocking any competitors.

    • … Full Article »

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Originally published
December 12, 2009 by Mica Veihman

DuPont vs. Monsanto – A Tale of Two Companies

By Jerry Glover

Over the last couple of days, Monsanto and DuPont have been in the news. So what’s this all about? Is it just some spitting match between two competitors? A complicated legal wrangling? Or is it something else entirely?

There’s a lot of history here.

Thirty years ago, Monsanto and DuPont were both chemical conglomerates, and both had agricultural divisions primarily making and selling pesticides. As the science of biotechnology began to develop, the two companies took very different paths. Monsanto bet the farm on biotech and its application in agriculture. DuPont consciously chose not to invest in … Full Article »

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Originally published
August 24, 2009 by Monsantoco