St. Louis, Missouri
February 26, 2009
Monsanto today announced
the launch of Genuity™, a family of traits designed to work
together to enhance crop potential and simplify trait selection
for farmers. The Genuity brand will differentiate and unify the
agriculture company's technology products under one platform and
make it simpler for growers to select the traits best suited for
their farms.
Ernesto Fajardo, Monsanto Vice President-U.S. Commercial, said
the company's next-generation, value-added trait technologies
will be marketed as Genuity beginning in 2010. As new trait
technologies in Monsanto's research and development pipeline are
introduced, having a consistent brand platform will help
represent those products to the farmer in the most
straightforward way possible and avoid the potential for
confusion in the marketplace, he said.
"Genuity gives us the opportunity to position our traits as a
family of innovative products that will enable farmers do what
they do best, even better," said Fajardo. "It provides a single,
easily recognized brand to simplify the process by which farmers
ask for our traits, to help them be more successful on their
farms."
The Genuity family of traits will be used with Monsanto's newest
and future traits. These include Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield™
soybeans, Genuity VT Triple PRO™ corn, Genuity Bollgard II®
cotton, Genuity Bollgard II with Roundup Ready® Flex cotton,
Genuity Roundup Ready Flex cotton, Roundup Ready specialty crops
and, pending regulatory approval in 2010, Genuity SmartStax™
corn.
Fajardo noted that Monsanto invests more than $2.6 million a day
-- nearly $1 billion annually -- to develop innovative, new
technologies that help farmers be more productive and
profitable. Technology innovation also supports the company's
commitment to help farmers double yields by the year 2030 to
meet the growing global demand for food, feed, fuel and fiber,
while at the same time helping farmers reduce the use of key
resources per unit of output.
"Monsanto's science is only as good as the solutions and the
value our seeds provide to farmers," he said. "That is why we
felt we needed a brand like Genuity to simplify and more clearly
connect our family of traits with the farmers who value them.
Genuity will help farmers make the connection between the traits
they know and trust and new trait technologies that will be
introduced in the future."
Dion McBay, Monsanto U.S. Traits Marketing Lead, said the name
Genuity is designed to communicate Monsanto's commitment to
innovation and farmer success. The brand name, he said, is the
result of conversations and feedback that started with farmers.
"The name Genuity is associated with being genuine, authentic
and original, and reinforces our commitment to traits that
provide enhanced productivity and higher yields for the farmers
who plant them," McBay explained.
McBay said Genuity seed bags will feature easy-to-read icons
representing insect protection, herbicide tolerance, weather
protection and increased productivity to illustrate clearly the
benefits the traits offer. The Genuity icon system, he said,
will help farmers match traits with the specific needs of their
farm.
Fajardo said he is excited about the new Genuity brand and the
future of agriculture. "Our trait technologies make me think
about the tools farmers will have available to them, now and in
the future, that will enable them to double yields by 2030," he
said. "Because we're focused on connecting with farmers and
building relationships with farmers, it's important to make our
trait products very clear to them. That's the goal of Genuity."
For more information about Monsanto's new Genuity brand, farmers
are invited to visit
www.Genuity.com.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains
focused on enabling both small-holder and large- scale farmers
to produce more from their land while conserving more of our
world's natural resources such as water and energy. To learn
more about our business and our commitments, please visit:
http://www.monsanto.com/.
Monsanto Company is a member of BIO's Excellence Through
Stewardship(SM)
(ETS) Initiative. This product has been commercialized in
compliance with the ETS and Monsanto Product Launch Stewardship
policies, after meeting applicable regulatory requirements in
key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop
or material produced from this product can only be exported to,
or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary
regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of
national and international law to move material containing
biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is
not permitted. Monsanto encourages growers to talk to their
grain handler to confirm their buying position for this product.
Excellence Through Stewardship(SM) is a service mark of
Biotechnology Industry Organization. Cottonseed containing
Monsanto traits may not be exported for the purpose of planting
without a license from Monsanto.
Growers may utilize the natural refuge option for varieties
containing the Bollgard II® trait in the following states: AL,
AR, FL, GA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MS, MO, NC, OK, SC, TN, VA, and most
of Texas (excluding the Texas counties of Brewster, Crane,
Crockett, Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Loving,
Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Terrell, Val Verde, Ward and Winkler).
The natural refuge option does not apply to Bollgard II cotton
grown in areas where pink bollworm is a pest, including CA, AZ,
NM, and the above listed Texas counties. It also remains the
case that Bollgard® and Bollgard II cotton cannot be planted
south of Highway 60 in Florida, and that Bollgard cotton cannot
be planted in certain other counties in the Texas panhandle.
Refer to the Technology Use Guide and IRM Guide for additional
information regarding Bollgard II, Bollgard, natural refuge and
EPA-mandated geographical restrictions on the planting of Bt
cotton.
ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. SmartStax™
commercialization is dependent on many factors, including
successful conclusion of regulatory process. SmartStax™ has not
been registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It
is a violation of federal law to promote or sell an unregistered
pesticide. SmartStax™, Bollgard®, Bollgard II®, Genuity™,
Roundup®, Roundup Ready®, Roundup Ready 2 Yield™, VT Triple PRO™
and SmartStax™ are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC.
Liberty Link and the Water Droplet Design® is a registered
trademark of Bayer Cropscience AG. ©2009 Monsanto Company. |
|
