Latest News

June 2009

Benefits of Biotechnology Stressed
29 June 2009 The International News
[Prof Dr Nuzhat Ahmed] said that there was crying need to benefit from biotechnology, which helps produce generically modified (GM) crops. “The proper use of biotechnology can increase food production, lower food prices, and improve food quality. The technology has great potential to enhance food production in the country.

Monsanto and Bayer CropScience Sign Cross-Licensing Agreement on Herbicide Tolerance Traits in Canola
29 June 2009 Monsanto
Monsanto Company and Bayer CropScience have agreed to cross license their respective herbicide tolerance traits in canola on a non-exclusive basis for commercialization within their respective branded canola seed businesses.

Combination of New Biotechnology Trait and Seed Treatment System in Soybeans Demonstrating Strong Early Season Performance
29 June 2009 Monsanto
Monsanto Company announced today that soybean varieties with the Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield® trait and Acceleron™ seed treatment system are showing an early season performance advantage over competitive soybean products and first-generation traits in many areas of the United States.

Monsanto Products Reach Regulatory Milestones in the European Union
29 June 2009 Monsanto
Monsanto Company announced today that experts at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a favorable scientific opinion on Monsanto's Roundup Ready 2 corn product for cultivation and reconfirmed the safety of its YieldGard insect-protected corn trait.

Drought-Tolerant Seed Could Boost Corn Crop
27 June 2009 EDP 24
A new approach to plant breeding to boost crop yields will require adoption of the latest GM technology, Norfolk farmers have been told.

Anti-Allergy GM Rice Appears Safe in Animal Studies
26 June 2009 Crop Biotech Net
A team of researchers from Japan's National Institute for Agrobiological Sciences has successfully developed a genetically modified rice variety that fights Japanese cedar pollen allergy.

The University of Almeria Genetically Improves Castor-Oil Plants to Produce New Bio-Lubricants
25 June 2009 Andalucia Investiga
Almeria-based researchers, led by Federico García Maroto, have genetically improved castor-oil plant so as to use it as a factory to produce bio lubricants.

Feeding the Hungry
25 June 2009 Agweb Blogs
It has certainly made it easier for me to earn a living, because GM seeds reduce the amount of time and resources I devote to each acre of crops.

Seeds and Traits Business Provides Strong Profit Contribution In Third-Quarter and Year-To-Date Results; New Competitive Dynamics Change Outlook for Roundup Franchise
24 June 2009 Monsanto
Our 2009 fiscal year represents a milestone for our business as our seeds and traits business alone will deliver more gross profit than all of Monsanto did in 2007, a remarkable achievement in just two short years.

Monsanto and Dole Combine Strengths in New Collaboration to Bring Innovations to Vegetables
23 June 2009 Monsanto
Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) announced today it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc., to develop new products that will enhance consumer vegetable choices.

Monsanto Completes Regulatory Submissions in Brazil for First Biotech Insect-Protected Soybean Technology
22 June 2009 Monsanto
Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) announced today that it has completed regulatory submission in Brazil for its insect-protected Roundup Ready 2 Yield™ soybeans.

Centre Rolls Out New Gene Method for Designer Crops
22 June 2009 Live Mint
The government, concerned at falling agricultural growth, launched a project in May to develop naturally improved crop varieties mainly to boost yields, said R.R. Sinha, an adviser at the department of biotechnology.

Scientists Hope to Bring Omega 3 Back into Food Chain
20 June 2009 The Hindu Business Line
If the project is successful, the genetically modified veggies can potentially be an important source of the essential fatty acid, which is necessary for good health but cannot be manufactured in the human body.

INRA Researchers Identify New Aphid Resistance Gene
18 June 2009 Crop Biotech Net
Scientists at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) have identified a novel gene that confers resistance against the dreaded melon or cotton aphid Aphis gossypii.

Nigeria Approves Confined Field Trial of Cowpea
18 June 2009 Crop Biotech Net
The Federal Government of Nigeria approved the request of the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria to conduct confined field trial (CFT) of insect resistant transgenic cowpea.

Monsanto Opens Agriculture's First Water Utilization Learning Center
16 June 2009 Monsanto
Water is a vital element in the production of food. Helping farmers better manage water utilization for crops is the focus of Monsanto Company's (NYSE: MON) Water Utilization Learning Center, which opens today at Gothenburg, Neb.

Reengineering A Food Poisoning Microbe To Carry Medicines And Vaccines
16 June 2009 Science Daily
Scientists have used genetic engineering to tame one of the most deadly food poisoning microbes and turn it into a potential new way of giving patients medicine and vaccines in pills rather than injections.

Biotechnology's Potential to Improve Seed Composition Outlined
16 June 2009 USDA
Biotechnology offers a realistic means to not only improve important seed components, but also to boost the overall nutritional quality of seeds, according to a recently published book edited and partly written by Hari B. Krishnan, an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist.

GM Canola Keeps on Growing
15 June 2009 ABC News
There's been a fourfold jump in the amount of genetically modified canola sown in Victoria and NSW this year.

Mechanisms of Aluminum Tolerance in Wheat
11 June 2009 Crop Biotech Net
Researchers at the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization (CSIRO) have identified two mechanisms for aluminum tolerance in wheat.

Monsanto Teams up With Industry Leaders in Protein Design Software Development
11 June 2009 Monsanto
Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) and Pasadena-based Protabit LLC, today announced a two-year collaboration to develop new tools for protein design and optimization.

Are GMOs Harmful or Helpful?
11 June 2009 The Financial Gazette
GMO allows for enhanced disease and pest resistance. they also prevent heavy usage of herbicides as the crop will be able to outgrow and fight weeds just on application of single and moderate herbicide, thereby saving the environment.

Biotechnology to Increase Agriculture Output in Azerbaijan: American University Professor
10 June 2009 Trend Capital
The introduction of biotechnology in agriculture in Azerbaijan will help local farmers to significantly increase their incomes, professor at the American Tuskegee University Channapatna Prakash said.

Monsanto Company Declares Quarterly Dividend
09 June 2009 Monsanto
Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend on its common stock of 26.5 cents per share. The dividend is payable on July 24, 2009 to shareowners of record on July 2, 2009.

Monsanto, BASF Scientists Disclose Discovery of Gene Conferring Drought Tolerance in Corn Plants
09 June 2009 Monsanto
Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) and BASF scientists unveiled the discovery that a naturally-occurring gene can help corn plants combat drought conditions and confer yield stability during periods of inadequate water supplies.

EU Losing Out on Contributions to Sustainable Farming from Biotech Traits
08 June 2009 PG Economics
New study shows GM insect resistant (GM IR) maize has delivered important economic and environmental benefits but only a small part of the potential benefit is currently being realised.

Rabies Vaccine from GM Carrots
05 June 2009 Crop Biotech Net
Researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico have developed transgenic carrot plants accumulating significant levels of the rabies virus glycoprotein.

Genetically Modified Crops Get the Vatican's Blessing
04 June 2009 New Scientist
GM crops were heartily endorsed at a week-long seminar held by the academy in mid-May.

Food Safety 101
04 June 2009 Agweb Blogs
GM crops are better able to fend off pests that introduce disease. In the near future, we’ll hear more about biofortification--the genetic enhancement of staple crops to improve their nutritional content.

Icons are Next Step in Biotechnology Communication
04 June 2009 Farm & Ranch Guide
By the middle of the next decade, Monsanto's visionaries hope to offer soybean and corn seed with multiple traits stacked to deliver innovative solutions to help meet the world's demands for food, fuel and fiber.

"Junk" DNA Proves to be Highly Valuable
02 June 2009 USDA
What was once thought of as DNA with zero value in plants--dubbed "junk" DNA--may turn out to be key in helping scientists improve the control of gene expression in transgenic crops.

IEC Conference – EU to Adopt GM crops
01 June 2009 World Poultry
Van Horne’s study concludes that one solution to this ongoing problem is that the EU needs to adopt an acceptable tolerance to allow non-improved varieties to be in shipments.