St. Louis, Missouri
June 16, 2009
Gothenburg, Nebraska facility
focused on research to help farmers improve productivity
Water is a vital element in the production of food. Helping
farmers better manage water utilization for crops is the focus
of Monsanto Company’s
(NYSE:MON) , which opens today at Gothenburg, Nebraska.
More than 200 farmers, government officials and industry
representatives are expected to attend the grand opening, which
is sponsored by Monsanto’s Genuity™ trait brand. The Water
Utilization Learning Center, the first of its kind in
agriculture, is a $6 million facility designed for studying
cropping systems comprised of world class genetics, agronomic
practices and biotech traits including water-use efficiency
technologies such as drought-tolerant cropping systems. The
center will help Monsanto advance research to help improve
farmers’ productivity in the Western Great Plains while gaining
a better understanding of water use by crops.
“Water is a major factor in agriculture production,” said Robb
Fraley, Monsanto Chief Technology Officer. “In any given year,
10 million to 13 million acres of farmland planted to corn in
the United States may be affected by at least moderate drought,
and every crop acre faces some degree of water stress at some
point in the growing season.”
More than 80 cropping and irrigation demonstrations are featured
at the 155-acre farm and learning center. Among the Monsanto
corn and soybean technologies on display are Genuity™ Roundup
Ready 2 Yield™ soybeans, Genuity™ VT Triple PRO™ corn, and
first-generation drought-tolerant technology for corn.
“Our upcoming drought-tolerant crop technologies represent one
potential tool for addressing the challenge of water
utilization, while ensuring greater sustainability and
production within agriculture,” Fraley added.
In addition to crop and irrigation demonstrations, the facility
includes three conference rooms that will be equipped with
state-of-the-art videoconferencing capabilities. The center will
be hardwired to eventually conduct virtual tours of robotics and
seed analytics facilities in remote locations such as Monsanto’s
breeding facility in Ankeny, Iowa, or the company’s
Chesterfield, Mo., research facility, for example. The site also
includes a 20,000 square foot breeding station and a smaller
building to dry corn.
Gothenburg Learning Center Lead Chandler Mazour said Monsanto
selected the site because of its location in the transition zone
from dryland acres to irrigated acres on the western High
Plains, adding that Monsanto needs that diversity to determine
how to use future technologies in adding value to crops.
“The center provides visitors the platform to see our approach
to water utilization from a systems standpoint, that is
breeding, biotechnology and agronomics,” Mazour added. “Visitors
get a first-hand understanding of how we make our genetic and
biotechnology gains, and the process of reaching our
sustainability goals and, most important, the goals that they
want to achieve on their farms.”
The Gothenburg Water Utilization Learning Center is open during
the summer for tours. Farmers can schedule a tour of the
facility by contacting their local seed company representative.
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. |
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