NEWS

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NEWS

Monsanto offers refund to southern cotton growers devastated by drought conditions
St. Louis, Missouri
June 21, 2000

In response to serious drought conditions, Monsanto Company today announced it would offer a refund to cotton growers in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina devastated by this year's drought. Monsanto will extend the crop-loss deadline on its Bollgard insect-protected and Roundup Ready herbicide-tolerant cotton to July 15, or 60 days from planting -- whichever is later -- offering refunds of the standard technology fee to growers whose cotton was destroyed in that time by extreme drought conditions in these areas.

By extending the deadline through mid-July, approximately 50 percent of cotton acres in these states that otherwise would not have been eligible for technology-fee refunds because of the date the seed was planted, now would be eligible for the full refund if the drought destroys the 2000 crop.

"Monsanto made this policy change because cotton growers are important to us,'' said Carl Casale, Monsanto's vice president for North American agriculture markets. "The severity of this year's drought is well known, especially in the farm community. We recognize that this drought has hit growers hard economically and that we had an opportunity to make our customers' lives a bit easier in this time of need.''

Monsanto's announcement is an extension of its existing crop-loss policy, whereby, if growers' crops are destroyed for any reason within 60 days of planting, Monsanto issues a full refund of the technology fee for the seed used to plant lost crop acres.

"With all other tools the farmer uses to grow his crop, he has to absorb 100 percent of the cost if the crop fails,'' Casale said. "In this case, the grower doesn't get the benefits of using our technology, so we aren't going to charge him for something he doesn't receive the benefits of using.''

Cotton growers in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina who are interested in applying for the full technology-fee refund should contact their local Monsanto sales representative, agricultural chemical or seed dealer, or call 1-800-Roundup for more information.

Monsanto introduced cotton developed through biotechnology in 1996, and Monsanto varieties of
Bollgard and Roundup Ready cotton were planted on more than half of the U.S. cotton acres in 1999. In just four years since introduction, new Monsanto cotton varieties have saved more than 1 million gallons of pesticide from being sprayed, saved growers millions of dollars in inputs and helped promote the adoption of more sustainable farming practices.

Monsanto Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pharmacia (NYSE: PHA - news), is a leading
provider of agricultural solutions to growers worldwide. Its 12,000 employees provide top-quality,
cost-effective and integrated approaches to help farmers improve their productivity and produce better quality foods.

Company news release
N2765

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