St. Louis, Missouri
April 9, 2002

With more than 500 million planted acres, wheat is the largest food grain grown in the world. U.S. farmers alone planted 59.6 million wheat acres in 2001. These acres can be infested with millions of buried weed seeds each year, which can grow into weeds that rob the crop of water, nutrients and sunlight; harbor insects and disease; clog combines; and deposit weed seeds into crop harvests.

“Wheat growers are seeking the kind of dependable and cost-effective weed control that biotechnology has brought to other crops like corn and soybeans,” says John Redd, commercial lead of Monsanto Company’s Global Wheat Team. “And farmers are beginning to recognize that wheat is getting left behind.” In a January survey, 69 percent of U.S. spring wheat growers said they believe that wheat has fallen behind developments in other crops. Sixty-five percent were very or somewhat interested in biotech wheat that offers tolerance to Roundup herbicide. And 71 percent said they were likely to plant Roundup Ready wheat if it were available.

“Clearly growers need and want the technology, and we believe that we can develop an approach to
meet the needs of the grain handling and food industry,” said Carl Casale, lead for Monsanto’s North
American operations. “It’s critical to our business – and to the business of North American wheat
farmers – that we bring this product to market successfully.”

“The product concept for Roundup Ready wheat is exciting because it delivers many of the benefits
growers tell us they need,” said Sally Metz, technical lead of the Global Wheat Team. Years of field
evaluations indicate that a single, 32-fluid-ounce application of Roundup Ultra herbicide over the top of
Roundup Ready spring wheat provides 95 percent to 100 percent control of nearly all broadleaf and
grassy weed species. “The Roundup Ready gene is delivering greater tolerance to Roundup in wheat
than we have achieved in any other crop,” said Metz. “Greater tolerance results in no significant crop
injury, and that has enabled increased yields of up to 15 percent.”

Other benefits of Roundup Ready wheat include ease of herbicide application, conservation-tillage
enhancement, cleaner grain and no crop rotation restrictions. And, as with other Roundup Ready
crops, wheat growers may have the potential to reduce the total amount of herbicides applied and to
replace commonly used products having less favorable environmental characteristics than Roundup.

Over the next few years, Monsanto will submit field data and laboratory results to regulatory agencies
worldwide for a thorough product review. Since approximately half of the wheat produced in the United
States is exported for food use, gaining appropriate regulatory trade approvals, thresholds or
marketing agreements in key export markets will be critical. Because Roundup Ready would be the
first biotech trait commercialized in wheat, industry support is vital. “Wheat is a highly scrutinized
crop because much of it ends up on grocery shelves in the form of bread products,” said Michael
Doane, industry affairs manager for the U.S. Wheat Team. “Working with and having dialogue with the
industry is the foundation of our program. We believe it is critical to the project’s success.” In 2001,
Monsanto organized the Wheat Industry Advisory Committee, a group of individual stakeholders
representing all areas of the wheat food chain, including seed traders, grain handlers, millers, bakers
and food processors. “This committee provides counsel and feedback so we can make the most
informed decisions about the development, use and stewardship of this product,” said Doane.

In response to feedback from the committee, Monsanto commissioned a survey of 400 North
American consumers in October 2001 to determine how they view the use of biotechnology in wheat.
The results indicate that consumers regard the use in wheat the same as its use in other crops.
Consumers are as accepting of biotech in wheat flour as they are of biotech in sugar, margarine or
cooking oil, and acceptance of biotech in bread and spaghetti is the same as it is for cheese, peanut
butter and corn flakes.

“Our strategy to meet the challenges of developing and potentially commercializing Roundup Ready
wheat,” said Redd, “is to draw on the experience, knowledge and feedback of stakeholders in the
wheat industry at every step in the process.”

Roundup, Roundup Ready and Roundup Ultra are registered trademarks of Monsanto Company.