St. Louis, Missouri
June 16, 2008
- Game-changing technology is
first in industry to achieve milestone regulatory submission and
remains on track for 2010 commercial launch
- Paves the way for potential refuge reduction and new revenue
opportunities for farmers
Monsanto Company (NYSE:
MON) today announced that the company has submitted documents
and extensive research data for SmartStax™, a new
insect-protection and weed control platform in corn, to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval.
With the submission, SmartStax becomes the first-ever stacked
product with multiple effective genes against both lepidopteran
and corn rootworm pests to reach this important regulatory
milestone. The product remains on track for commercial launch in
2010 pending appropriate regulatory approvals. SmartStax
features multiple traits designed to control corn insect pests
both above and below ground while offering farmers two choices
of herbicide tolerance in one seed.
Specifically, the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) proteins at work
in SmartStax deliver multiple modes of actions to control both
above and below ground pests; enabling an opportunity to lower
corn refuge acres. The SmartStax platform is anticipated to be
the first set of technologies to enable such a reduction in corn
refuge for both above and below ground pests. This game-changing
platform is expected to have a market opportunity that could top
more than 105 million acres globally, with 60-to-65 million
acres in the United States alone.
Monsanto has submitted a request to the EPA to reduce refuge
requirements for SmartStax to 5 percent in the northern Corn
Belt and 20 percent in southern states where cotton is planted.
"The technologies at work in SmartStax will provide increased
value on the farm through more thorough control of insects and
weeds and from the significant upside potential through refuge
reduction," said Carl Casale, executive vice president, strategy
and operations, Monsanto Company. "All totaled, we estimate the
SmartStax hybrid system could provide an estimated yield benefit
of an additional 4 to 10 percent on the farm."
Currently corn growers are required to plant "structured
refuges" or plots of corn that do not use in-plant protection
technology near corn acres that do.
The percentage of refuge acres varies based on the specific
geography, but in general has been set at 50 percent in
cotton-growing regions of the United States and 20 percent in
the rest of the Northern Corn Belt.
Research conducted by leading scientists at academic
institutions around the United States shows the use of dual
protein technologies, like those contained in SmartStax, could
enable a refuge reduction while maintaining long-term
effectiveness.
Dr. Marlin E. Rice, professor of entomology at Iowa State
University said, "SmartStax, which combines YieldGard VT Triple
PRO and Herculex XTRA technologies, will provide corn growers
with dual-protein activity against corn rootworms, thereby
offering the broadest spectrum of insect control available and a
decreased probability of the development of insect resistance."
Casale added, "In a time when the world is looking for
agriculture to produce more, reducing the need for refuge acres
would represent a win for the grain markets and a potentially
significant financial gain for farmers."
SmartStax is co-developed with Dow AgroSciences and combines
technologies from both companies for multiple modes-of-action
against insects and tolerance to two herbicides in a single
seed. Both companies have now filed submissions for SmartStax in
Japan and the United States to support commercial launch.
Pending approval from various international regulatory
authorities, SmartStax is on track to become commercially
available in 2010 in the United States.
SmartStax will provide coverage in the following areas:
- Above-ground insect
control: Dow's Herculex® I technology with Monsanto's
second-generation, two-gene lepidopteran control technology
called YieldGard® VT PRO, SmartStax will provide protection
against European corn borer, southwestern corn borer, corn
earworm, fall armyworm, western bean cutworm, and black
cutworm;
- Below-ground insect
control: Combining Dow AgroSciences' Herculex® RW technology
and Monsanto's YieldGard VT Rootworm/RR2 technology,
SmartStax will provide protection against Western, Northern
and Mexican corn rootworms; and,
- Weed control: Bringing
together Monsanto's Roundup Ready® 2 technology with Liberty
Link® herbicide tolerance, SmartStax will offer broad
spectrum weed and grass control with the option of two
different modes-of-action.
At launch, the SmartStax
technology platform will be made broadly available across
Monsanto's three corn seed channels which include leading
national brands, such as DEKALB, regional brands in the
company's American Seeds, Inc., or ASI and license partners
through Corn States seed company. The platform will also serve
as the entry point for future advanced technologies in corn,
such as water stress tolerance and nitrogen efficiency, among
others.
Monsanto is an agriculture company. The company is a leading
provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products
that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto is
committed to investing in products that can make a difference
for its farmer customers and the land they farm.
The company uses plant breeding, plant biotechnology and other
applications of modern science to support its commitment to
agriculture and the farmers that feed, clothe and fuel our
growing world.
DEKALB, SmartStax, Roundup Ready, YieldGard VT and YieldGard VT
PRO are trademarks of Monsanto Company and its wholly owned
subsidiaries.
® Trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLCHERCULEX Insect Protection
technology by Dow AgroSciences and Pioneer Hi-Bred.
® Liberty Link is a registered trademark owned by Bayer
CropScience. |
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