September 9, 2011

 

Monsanto's business unaffected by potential pest resistance

 

 

In spite of potential pest resistance to Monsanto Co.'s genetically modified corn trait, the issue is seen as an isolated case and will not affect the company's business, according to a Monsanto executive Thursday (Sep 8).

 

The discovery of corn rootworms that have evolved to resist the company's trait, revealed in a study by Iowa State University earlier this summer, has weighed on the company's stock recently. But the issue is one Monsanto has known about for years, and problems have been limited to about 100 farmers a year in parts of northeast Iowa and northern Illinois, said Brett Begemann, Monsanto executive vice president and chief commercial officer.

 

"Fundamentally it has little to do with our business today or tomorrow," he told investors at a conference Thursday.

 

He added that the St. Louis seed company already offers solutions to stop rootworm problems from spreading.

 

Begemann also revealed more details about 2011 sales of the company's key corn and soybean products. Planted acreage of Monsanto's reduced refuge corn was 13 million acres, he said, while its Roundup Ready 2 Yield soy hit 17 million acres.

 

Monsanto had previously forecast sales of 13-17 million acres for both corn and soy.

 

The reduced refuge corn allows farmers to plant more higher-yielding seeds with genetically modified, or biotech traits, limiting the amount of refuge, or non-biotech corn, that must be planted. The government requires farmers to plant a refuge to slow the reproduction of pests that have acquired resistance to the biotech traits.

 

The plantings of both corn and soy products clearly establish them as platforms for future Monsanto offerings, Begemann said.

 

Begemann added that pricing for seeds is clearly going to go up this year, with that increase attributed to a shift in product mix as farmers seek out newer, higher-yielding products.

 

Monsanto shares recently rose US$0.22 to US$68.11.