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 Company: Monsanto Company, St. Louis, Missouri
Entry Submitted By: Standing Partnership
Company Description: Monsanto is a leading provider of agricultural products and solutions, using unparalleled innovation in plant biotechnology, genomics and breeding to improve productivity and to reduce the costs of farming.
Nomination Category: Company Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Most Innovative Company
Nomination Title: Monsanto Company - Innovation in Biotechnology
- Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved since January 1 2007 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
The goal of achieving a sustainable planet – one that accommodates basic needs
while preserving resources for future generations – has gained increasing
interest and urgency in recent years. In particular, with a growing world
population, a sustainable food production system that produces more crops per
unit of land, and with less environmental impact, is critical.
By every measure, 2007 was an extraordinary year of innovation for Monsanto
Company, an organization committed to helping close that ever-widening gap
through research and product development in plant breeding and biotechnology.
In 2007, Monsanto invested 10 percent of its sales, or nearly $2 million a day,
in research and development of products that add value to crops like corn,
cotton and soybeans as well as fruits and vegetables. Just one of the major
outcomes of this investment was the completion of the most comprehensive
sequence of the soybean cyst nematode genome to date, the first available draft
of this organism's genome. The milestone discovery made by Monsanto and its
research partner Divergence represents a major advancement in the available
research data on this crop pest – and has the potential to prevent nearly $1
billion of soybean crop yield loss to farmers in the United States.
Monsanto researchers are actively applying the company’s innovative breeding and
biotechnology programs across platforms. In 2007, Monsanto’s trait technologies
were planted on 246 million acres throughout the world, a growth of 13 percent
from 2006. In the corn market, Monsanto’s triple-stack corn – which combines
Roundup Ready 2 weed control technology with YieldGard Corn Borer and YieldGard
Rootworm insect control – is the market leader in the United States. U.S. corn
farmers planted more than 17 million acres of triple-stack corn in 2007, and it
is estimated the product could be planted on 45 million to 50 million acres by
2010. In the cotton market, Bollgard II with Roundup Ready Flex was planted on
nearly 3 million acres of U.S. cotton in 2007. This product is a stack of two
second-generation traits for weed and insect control which has improved farmer
yields and profitability.
Increased acreage of biotechnology crops around the globe not only reflects an
innovative product that farmers benefit from, but an ongoing education effort
that’s yielded the global community’s support for Monsanto’s products. In 2007,
Monsanto was granted key regulatory approvals in a number of countries including
Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Japan and in new areas of the United States. These
approvals will allow for future introduction of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready 2 Yield
soybeans and YieldGard VT Pro.
While Monsanto’s achievements in 2007 established a strong foundation for
continued growth, these achievements were focused on satisfying its customers –
farmers – who need to be able to produce more food, feed, fuel and fiber on the
same amount of land, helping to ensure that agriculture can meet the world’s
needs in the future.
- List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
• Monsanto: Winning the Ground War
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_51/b4063034300400.htm?chan=
search
• Monsanto and Divergence Sequence Soybean Cyst Nematode Genome
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/industrials/article/monsanto-divergence
-seq
uence-soybean-cyst-nematode-genome_509506_6.html
• Monsanto and BASF announce partnership for biotech crops
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/21/business/NA-FIN-COM-US-Monsanto-BASF-
Partnership.php
• Monsanto set to release new strain of engineered soybeans
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/31/business/NA-FIN-COM-US-Monsanto-New-
Beans.php
• Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2007
http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/37/pressrelease/default.html
• U.S. corn yields soar thanks to stellar genetics
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN0435107520071004
• Monsanto's Stacked Trait Corn Technology Receives European Regulatory Approval
http://monsanto.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=549]
• International farmers want, need ag biotech
http://www.brownfieldnetwork.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=B3FE4C02-D075-61FF-
B87F2F2740A42AC7
• Vistive Soybeans Sign of Things to Come
http://indianaprairiefarmer.com/index.aspx?ascxid=fpStory&fpsid=30316&fpstid=2
• Monsanto's Biotech Makeover Takes Root
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/070819/27monsanto.htm
• Investing in Harsher Climate
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/03/21/PM200703213.html
• Biotech Crops Experience Remarkable Dozen Years of Double-Digit Growth
http://www.whybiotech.com/index.asp?id=6188
- Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:
Hugh Grant is president and chief executive officer of Monsanto. He has served
as executive vice president and chief operating officer; managing director of
all business units in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand; and led
Monsanto organization in Europe and North America.
Grant has a B.S. degree in Molecular Biology and Agricultural Zoology from
Glasgow University, an M.S. degree from Edinburgh University and an M.B.A.
degree from the International Management Center.
Grant is a member of the International Policy Council on Agriculture, Food and
Trade; Executive Committee of the Microcredit Summit Campaign; and International
Advisory Board of Scottish Enterprise.
Description of Company
Monsanto is a leading provider of agricultural products and solutions, using
unparalleled innovation in plant biotechnology, genomics and breeding to improve
productivity and to reduce the costs of farming.
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