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Douglas J. Dorsey -
Monsanto Company - USA |
August 2002 |
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Can you tell us
about new technologies that your company will introduce in the
near future, and what impact they will have? |
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I am glad you
asked this question because it is something that
representatives of our company get asked about a lot. Our
customers
constantly ask us where their investment in Monsanto
technologies goes?
Well, new traits developed through biotechnology is just one
example of this
investment.
On an annual basis, as I said earlier, we invest approximately
$500 million
to research new solutions for growers - looking at ways to
increase their
productivity and profitability.
Today, Monsanto is proud to have been able to bring to growers
new
technologies that have increased their production efficiency,
lowered their
input costs, and provided them with environmentally
sustainable options.
These technologies include: Roundup Ready soybeans, Roundup
Ready corn, YieldGard Corn Borer, Roundup Ready cotton and
Bollgard cotton.
Monsanto remains committed to re-investing in the industry and
researching
new solutions to keep growers at the forefront of a
competitive global
market. Examples of this commitment is our research into
YieldGard Rootworm and Bollgard II - which are new
technologies that are in the final stages of regulatory
approval.
In line with the
New Monsanto Pledge, Monsanto has committed publicly not
to launch a product commercially until that product has both
U.S. and Japanese approval. We originally made this commitment
in order to secure end-markets for our customers. It is a
Pledge we stand by today.
In line with this commitment, Monsanto plans to introduce our
new corn
rootworm-protected technology, YieldGard Rootworm, and our
second-generation insect-protected cotton technology, Bollgard
II - once these technologies have been approved by regulatory
agencies in the United States and Japan.
YieldGard Rootworm is designed to offer corn growers a new
tool to control
corn rootworm. The technology specifically targets three
important
coleopteran pests, the western, northern and Mexican corn
rootworm.
Bollgard II is designed to offer cotton growers a broader
spectrum of
control of damaging insects. Specifically, this technology
contains two
separate genes, compared to the single insect-control gene in
Bollgard. We
expect this additional gene to offer growers a better defense
against insect
resistance that will, in turn, play a significant role in the
product's
future insect resistance management program.
At this time, Monsanto expects to have regulatory approvals in
the coming
months for both YieldGard Rootworm and Bollgard II - in time
for a
commercial launch in 2003.
On July 18, 2002, the FDA officially closed the consultation
process for
Bollgard II cotton - a key milestone towards commercial
approval for this
technology.
To date, YieldGard Rootworm has been approved by regulatory
authorities in
Japan and is currently awaiting final regulatory approval in
the United
States. While it is difficult to estimate exactly what kind of
impact these
technologies will have for growers once they are introduced -
research has
shown that a product like YieldGard Rootworm would allow
growers to cut much of the more than 80 million pounds of
insecticides they use annually to
control corn rootworm.
Beyond technologies like YieldGard Rootworm and Bollgard II,
Monsanto plans to introduce new technologies like Roundup
Ready wheat and Roundup Ready Flex cotton.
Roundup Ready wheat
Monsanto is currently in development phase of our Roundup
Ready wheat
technology. At this time, Monsanto is working with industry
stakeholders to
understand and gain advice on the development of biotechnology
traits for
the wheat industry. We are committed to bringing Roundup Ready
Wheat forward in a responsible way that maximizes the benefits
of new wheat varieties for the entire wheat food chain.
Roundup Ready Flex cotton
While our current Roundup Ready cotton is a good product,
we're working on
Roundup Ready Flex cotton that will be even better. This
technology is
expected to provide growers with an expanded window of
application for
Roundup. At this time, we do not expect Roundup Ready Flex to
be in the
marketplace before 2006. |
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