St. Louis, Missouri
May 29, 2003

Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) announced today that its board of directors has elected Hugh Grant, 45, as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, effective immediately. In addition, he was elected to the company’s board of directors. Grant, a 22-year veteran of Monsanto, served as the company’s chief operating officer for the past three years.

In making the announcement, Monsanto Chairman Frank AtLee said, “Hugh Grant has been an integral part of Monsanto’s strategic transition from a chemistry-based company to a company based largely on seeds and biotechnology traits. Hugh’s strong operational background, coupled with his keen knowledge of the business and his ability to earn the trust of a wide range of stakeholders in challenging situations, made him the board’s choice to lead Monsanto going forward.”

“We’re at an important crossroads for our business,” Grant said. “Agricultural biotechnology and genomics have great potential, and Monsanto remains at the forefront of these technologies. However, we will continue to balance this longer-term potential by maintaining our cautiously optimistic approach as we focus on delivering near-term results.

“We are continually looking for ways to create longer-term value for our shareowners, our customers, and our employees,” Grant said. “The next three-to-five years are especially important to our company as we continue on our journey of becoming the high-tech solutions provider to farmers, agricultural retailers and distributors, grain handlers, food processors, food companies, and all those interested in agriculture around the globe.”

AtLee said the selection of Grant as Monsanto’s president and CEO followed a five-month search conducted by the global executive search firm Spencer Stuart. “We were in the fortunate position of having a highly qualified candidate within the company,” AtLee said. “Even so, the board of directors agreed that we had the responsibility to interview external candidates. Several excellent and qualified candidates were identified.

“But in the end, our conclusion is that Hugh Grant is extremely qualified and the best person for this job. He has done an exceptional job of building trust internally and externally during a challenging period for Monsanto,” AtLee said. AtLee, who served as interim president and CEO since December, will continue to serve as chairman of the board of the company.

The company also reconfirmed its full-year 2003 earnings per share (EPS) guidance in the range of $1.25 to $1.40, and its second-quarter 2003 EPS guidance in the range of $0.91 to $1.05. The full-year EPS guidance excludes a 5-cent per share cumulative effect of adopting the asset retirement obligations accounting standard.

Management also reiterated its expectation of generating free cash flow in 2003 in the range of $350 million to $400 million. Management anticipates cash from operating activities will be in the range of $530 million to $560 million, and that cash used in investing activities will be in the range of $160 million to $180 million. For a reconciliation of projected free cash flow for 2003, see the company’s first-quarter 2003 financial results news release issued April 30, 2003.

AtLee and Grant will host a brief conference call at 8 a.m. central (9 a.m. eastern) tomorrow, Friday, May 30, to introduce Grant as Monsanto’s CEO. Those interested in hearing the call may visit the company’s web site at www.monsanto.com and click on “Investors.” Visitors may need to download Windows Media Player™ prior to listening to the webcast. Following the live broadcast, a replay of the webcast will be available on the Monsanto web site for two weeks.

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.

BACKGROUNDER

Hugh Grant was born March 23, 1958, in Larkhall, Scotland. He earned a bachelor’s of science degree in agricultural zoology with honors at Glasgow University. Grant also earned a post-graduate degree in agriculture at Edinburgh University, and a master’s of business administration at the International Management Centre in Buckingham, United Kingdom.

He joined the former Monsanto Company in 1981 as a product development representative in Scotland, and spent the first 10 years of his career with Monsanto’s agricultural business in a variety of European sales, product development and management responsibilities. In 1991, Grant relocated to St. Louis as global strategy director of the agriculture division and was responsible for global management of the Roundup herbicide franchise. In 1995, he was named Monsanto’s managing director for the Asia-Pacific region, where he had responsibility for the company’s agriculture, nutrition and pharmaceutical businesses in Southeast Asia.

In 1998, Grant was named co-president of the company’s agriculture division. In this position, he jointly oversaw global business operations and led the business and product strategy. As the co-president, he reported to the president of Monsanto and was responsible for the operational and commercial performance of all agriculture division business units and brands worldwide. In this role, he also formulated the long-term business strategy that led to an integrated product portfolio platform of chemistry, seeds and biotechnology traits.

Since 2000, Grant served as the company’s executive vice president and chief operating officer with overall responsibility for leading the operations and performance of the commercial seed, chemistry and biotechnology traits businesses inclusive of sales and marketing, information technology, distribution and manufacturing worldwide. During this time, Grant regularly represented the company to the financial community and with the media.

Grant is a board member of the International Policy Council (IPC) on Agriculture, Food and Trade; a member of the executive committee of the Microcredit Summit Campaign; an international advisory board member of the Scottish Enterprise; and a 2001-2003 board member of The United Way of Greater St. Louis.