December 18, 2007

Monsanto's Dekalb corn variety claims yield advantage over Dupont's Pioneer

Monsanto's Dekalb Genetics has announced that data from nearly 1,700 on-farm field trials showed an average of more than 14.6 bushel per acre advantage for DEKALB YieldGard VT Triple compared to Pioneer varieties which included Herculex Xtra.

Harvest data from across the US showed that farmers who used the company's Dekalb corn seed stacked with YieldGard VT Triple™ from Monsanto saw double-digit yield advantage over other seed brands and technologies in 2007, the company claimed.

In Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska, the Dekalb YieldGard VT Triple advantage grew to 15.0, 16.9, and 17.2 bushels per acre respectively.

"For more than 70 years, Deklab products have stood for strong roots and yields and our results in 2007 really underscore that statement," said Jim Zimmer, US Branded Business Lead for Monsanto Company.

Genetics from Dekalb brand seeds yielded an average of more than 8 bushels per acre over competing genetics according to 2007 harvest results, the company said.

This margin widened to more than 12 bushels per acre in the 110-day maturity zone, the selection most often used in corn producing states in the Corn Belt.

The Deklab brand of corn seed has seen six consecutive years of market share gains in the US corn seed market, growing to 23 percent market share or more than doubling its presence in the market in the last five years.

Monsanto has recently announced manufacturing expansions in Nebraska and Iowa that will more than double corn seed production in both states.

Combined, Monsanto is investing more than US$380 million in both states to expand existing corn seed operations and build two new Dekalb corn seed conditioning facilities.