Indianapolis, Indiana and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
October 4,  2001

As a result of its acquisition of Rohm and Haas Company's agricultural division in June, Dow AgroSciences LLC has acquired the remaining 50 percent of RhoMid LLC from BASF.

RohMid was established as a joint venture between American Cyanamid Company and Rohm and Haas Company in 1995. Following the acquisition of the American Home Products crop protection business in July 2000, BASF acquired American Cyanamid Company's interest in RohMid.

Under RohMid's joint venture agreement, the sale of the American Home Products crop protection business triggered Rohm and Haas' right to acquire the remaining 50 percent interest in RohMid. Dow AgroSciences exercised this right as the new owner of Rohm and Haas' former agricultural division.

RohMid sells MACH 2 turf insecticide* in the U.S. MACH 2 is an acronym for molt-accelerating compound halofenozide and controls white grub larvae. In 1998, it received the Presidential Green Chemistry Award from the U.S. EPA.

According to A. Charles Fischer, president and CEO of Dow AgroSciences, "Similar to our purchase of the Rohm and Haas Company agricultural division, the RohMid acquisition supports our value growth strategy. Adding a profitable niche product such as MACH 2 further enhances the Dow AgroSciences' turf and ornamental portfolio."

John Rabby, group vice president of BASF Agricultural Products, North America added, "BASF will continue to focus on marketing its proprietary product portfolio of herbicides, fungicides and fumigants to the turf and ornamental industry."

Dow AgroSciences LLC, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, is a global leader in providing pest management and biotechnology products that improve the quality and quantity of the earth's food supply and contribute to the safety, health and quality of life of the world's growing population. Dow AgroSciences has approximately 6,000 people in over 50 countries dedicated to its business, and has worldwide sales of approximately US $3 billion. Dow AgroSciences LLC is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW). For more information about Dow AgroSciences, visit www.dowagro.com. 

The BASF Agricultural Products business in North America, Specialty Products Department, markets a wide range of innovative products and active ingredients for the forestry, turf, ornamental, pest control, and industrial vegetation markets. Its headquarters are in Research Triangle Park, N.C. It is a unit of BASF Global Agricultural Products Division located in Mount Olive, N.J. with expected sales of 3.6 billion Euro in 2001. BASF Specialty Products Department can also be found on the Internet at www.turffacts.com.

Company news release
N3854