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Monsanto Company and Land O' Lakes, Inc. announced today that DEKALB® forage sorghum and SUDAX® products will be transferred to the Forage First™ brand of Land O' Lakes Seed Division beginning in 2008.

Through Forage First, dealers and growers will have one-stop shopping for a more complete line of forage products, including brown mid-rib forage sorghums. The following DEKALB products sold in 2007 – FS5, DKS59-09 and SX17 – will be distributed and sold only under the Forage First brand name for the 2008 planting season and beyond.

“We want to provide farmers the opportunity to continue to access a broad range of quality forage sorghum products,” said Jeff Koscelny, Specialty Crops Manager for Monsanto. “While the brand name and supplier of these products will change the product names and solid product performance that our dealers and customers have come to know and trust will remain the same.”

Koscelny said that customers who have purchased these products from Monsanto will be able to obtain the same products from Forage First. “We are working closely with Forage First to ensure a seamless transition so that dealers will continue to have ready access in terms of reliable supply and order entry via Forage First,” he said.
With the addition of these products to the Forage First portfolio, all related marketing and product service activity will be handled by the Forage First brand team, including pricing, promotional programs, customer claims, orders and returns, according to Doug Bastian, Land O’Lakes Seed Division Forage Manager.

“Forage First welcomes the addition of the former DEKALB brand forage sorghum and SUDAX hybrids to our product lineup. We look forward to providing their forage sorghum customers with the same effective service they have enjoyed in the past,” said Bastian.

According to Koscelny, this transition of the DEKALB brand forage sorghum and SUDAX business to Forage First will have no impact on the business models for Asgrow® and DEKALB grain sorghum products or DEKALB alfalfa products. These products will continue to be sold under the Asgrow and DEKALB brands and through Monsanto’s distribution system.

“After examining various options, we believe this new arrangement offers our dealers and customers an excellent alternative for continued access to these products through Forage First,” he said. “At the same time, it will enable Monsanto to better focus on our areas of core strength.”

Land O’Lakes, Inc. is a national, farmer-owned food and agricultural cooperative with annual sales of more than $7 billion. Land O'Lakes does business in all 50 states and more than 50 countries. It is a leading marketer of a full line of dairy-based consumer, foodservice and food ingredient products across the United States; serves its international customers with a variety of food and animal feed ingredients; and provides farmers and ranchers with an extensive line of agricultural supplies (feed, seed, crop nutrients and crop protection products) and services.

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

Forage First is a registered trademark of Land O' Lakes, Inc. DEKALB® and SUDAX® are registered trademarks of DeKalb Genetics Corporation. Asgrow® is a registered trademark of Monsanto Technology LLC. ©2007 Monsanto Company.

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