August 31, 2010

Monsanto takes wheat breeding stake in Australian grain breeder

Monsanto has bought a stake in InterGrain, one of Australia's leading cereal breeding companies with wheat and barley breeding programmes.

However, Australian growers - through the Western Australian government and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) - will continue to maintain the majority stake in InterGrain.

GRDC chairman, Keith Perrett, said this collaboration would deliver significant increases in wheat performance for Australian growers, and would target improvements in areas such as yield performance, disease resistance, drought tolerance and improved end use qualities.

"As an InterGrain shareholder, the GRDC board supports the InterGrain Board decision for Monsanto to purchase a minority interest in InterGrain," Perrett said.

"It is a positive step forward for the Australian grains industry as it links Australian breeding with the global research and development effort. Australia must tap into global R&D to make the necessary advances in breeding to serve the Australian grains industry into the future."
 

"We are working to ensure growers have access to superior varieties that enable them to effectively compete in global grain markets," Perrett added.

InterGrain was established in October 2007 by the state government of Western Australia and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), when the wheat breeding activities of the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia were transformed from a government-based operation into a commercial company structure.