Company announces multi-million dollar grant to QUALISOY initiative, transfers important genetic information

Monsanto Company announced today that it was pledging financial support and sharing important genetic information with the newly established soybean industry QUALISOY initiative.  The announcement, which was made at the annual Commodity Classic, is intended to provide a major boost for the soybean-focused compositional improvement initiative.

The QUALISOY Board is an industry coalition focused on compositional improvements in U.S. soybeans.  The initiative will serve as an innovative platform for increasing U.S. soybean competitiveness through development, commercialization and promotion of enhanced quality traits.

As part of the announcement, Monsanto leaders said the company was pleased to pledge a total of $8.4 million to the QUALISOY initiative during the 2004 through 2006 period. The grant will be earmarked for communication and on-going support of soybean research. 

In addition, Monsanto, together with its research collaborator Ceres, will share important soybean gene sequence data to help jumpstart the initiative. Monsanto and Ceres independently developed this soybean sequencing data. This sequencing data is expected to help better understand the soy plant’s genetic makeup – a critical step in creating an improved crop. In the years ahead, this data could lead to soybeans with better nutritional value, greater yields, as well as crops with enhanced oil and protein characteristics.

 “Monsanto is proud to support the US soybean industry and our nation’s growers in this important initiative,” said Carl Casale, Monsanto’s Executive Vice President for North America.  “We hope this important sequencing data will benefit and strengthen soybean research and on-going breeding efforts, ultimately providing benefits for all soybean growers in the United States.”

Casale noted that the soybean sequencing data would be made available to the QUALISOY initiative through a searchable database of genetic sequencing information for the soybean plant. This approach will allow the information to be used for research supported by the QUALISOY initiative. As a regional collaborator of plant science research, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is also helping to promote and facilitate the use of this research tool through a digital repository. This project also supports the Center’s investigators engaged in soybean research.

Today's announcement demonstrates Monsanto and Ceres’ commitment to share knowledge and technology with public institutions to advance science and understanding, and improve agriculture and the environment. Monsanto’s commitment today represents another example of the Monsanto Pledge in action.  This announcement builds upon prior donation in support of soybean, corn and cotton producers and serves as another example of the company's commitment to bolster innovation in the industry  (see backgrounder for more information on these announcements.)

QUALISOY originated from a soybean checkoff-funded initiative that invests in research to develop soybean varieties with enhanced compositional traits. The QUALISOY Board unites all levels of the soybean industry to create added value and increased global competitiveness for the U.S. soybean industry through the development, commercialization and promotion of enhanced quality traits.

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

Ceres, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company utilizing multiple integrated plant genomics technologies to develop innovative products.

Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a global vision to improve the human condition. Research at the Danforth Center will enhance the nutritional content of plants to improve human health, increase agricultural production to create a sustainable food supply, and build scientific capacity to generate economic growth in the St. Louis region and throughout Missouri. 

QUALISOY is a trademark of the United Soybean Boar

Monsanto joins with soybean industry on initiatives that increase competitiveness of U.S. soygrowers

Remaining strong in its commitment to the U.S. soybean producer and the U.S. agricultural industry, Monsanto continues to work on improving the quality of soybeans as a competitive advantage for U.S. soybean production.

Monsanto is dedicated to the success of the U.S. soybean farmer. We are proud to continue our combined efforts with the soybean industry to give U.S. soybean farmers the tools they need to compete in domestic and international markets, said Dion McBay, U.S. soybean marketing manager. With global competition increasing in soy, we must use the high-quality attributes of U.S. soybeans as a competitive differentiation that keeps the world demanding our beans. Monsanto has shown this commitment publicly alongside ASA and USB in the Select Yield and Quality initiative, and the Processor Preferred programs for Asgrow and DEKALB soybeans, adds McBay. We are attempting to help the industry and growers realize the value of growing soybean varieties with the higher yields of protein and oil that U.S. soybean customers demand.

Monsanto s efforts in USB s Select Yield and Quality initiative included co-sponsoring five major grower meetings held in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska this past December. Representatives from the soybean industry and global soybean buyers discussed a number of issues with over 600 soybean growers, including steps that soybean farmers should take to increase profitability and the protein content of U.S. soybeans to further strengthen U.S. competitiveness.

Monsanto is working to establish a value chain that rewards growers for choosing higher oil and protein soybeans. And we are working cooperatively with major processors like Cargill, South Dakota Soybean Processors (SDSP), Cenex Harvest States (CHS) and Ag Processing Inc. (AGP) to help identify which Asgrow and DEKALB varieties help them meet their processing goals through higher oil and protein content, noted McBay.

This effort, which is known as the Processor Preferred program, was started in 2001 with the goal of assisting processors in identifying varieties that simultaneously offer high yields, high protein and high oil. The value created by these higher quality attributes often brings enough value to soybean processors that they are willing to share a premium with growers to influence them to purchase and plant the higher performing Processor Preferred varieties. Growers who have a local elevator participating in the Processor Preferred program can purchase Asgrow and DEKALB soybean varieties and can often receive a premium upon delivery of the soybeans to their processor.

Processor Preferred soybean varieties are identified to contain higher levels of oil and/or protein through a series of ISO 17025-compliant quality analytic procedures. Approved varieties are rigorously tested for yield and strong agronomic traits such as disease resistance in addition to their high-quality composition.

For more information on how to participate in a Processor Preferred program, growers should contact their local Monsanto representative or a Monsanto branded seed dealer.

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

DEKALB is a registered trademark of DeKalb Genetics Corporation. Asgrow and Processor Preferred are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. 2004 Monsanto Company.