St. Louis, Missouri
June 25, 2002

Grain corn containing the Herculex(TM) I Insect Protection trait has received regulatory committee approvals for food, feed and import into Japan, clearing an important hurdle on the road to commercialization. Leon Corzine, chairman of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Biotech Working Group, said Herculex I provides a new option for the nation's corn growers.

"It gives corn growers another choice," said the Assumption, Ill., corn grower. "The Japanese approval of the commercialization of Herculex I will give corn growers another tool in the toolbox for production agriculture. It's good for the environment and will help producers with safety and profitability."

NCGA believes the development of biotechnology offers great promise for corn growers through improved efficiencies and potential profits when managed wisely and with regulatory oversight based on sound science.

Herculex I is the first trait in a new generation of in-plant insect- protection traits for corn. This family of traits is being developed in a research collaboration between Dow AgroSciences and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. Herculex I guards against European and southwestern corn borer and expands protection to include black cutworm and fall armyworm.

Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration granted full food and feed registration to Herculex I for the United States. Later in 2001, the EPA re-registered Herculex I, along with other Bt corn products. While registration efforts continue in other major corn-producing and corn- consuming regions of the world, approval by Japan's regulatory agencies for import of this grain marks a major advancement, since Japan is a key destination for U.S. grain.

"NCGA wants to thank Dow and Pioneer for their recognition of our policies in waiting on the commercialization of Herculex I until they received Japanese approval," said Corzine. "We're confident they will continue to work with us as they commercialize new products using our 'Know Before You Grow' campaign as a model."

For more information on biotechnology and 'Know Before You Grow', visit the NCGA website at
http://www.ncga.com/biotechnology/main/index.html . 

The National Corn Growers Association mission is to create and increase opportunities for corn growers in a changing world and to enhance corn's profitability and usage. NCGA represents more than 32,000 members, 25 affiliated state corn grower organizations and hundreds of thousands of growers who contribute to state checkoff programs.