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August 14, 2009
· Monsanto to hike seed prices by 42 percent
· Seed industry strives to bolster collaboration
· DNA research helps sweeten Texas melons
· Melon harvest shut down over heat rules
· America selects its favorite farmers markets
Monsanto may hike seed prices by 42 percent
(Bloomberg) -- Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed maker, plans to charge as much as 42 percent more for its new genetically modified seeds next year than older offerings because they increase farmers’ output.
Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans will cost farmers an average of $74 an acre in 2010, and original Roundup Ready soybeans will cost $52 an acre, St. Louis-based Monsanto said today in presentations on its Web site. SmartStax corn seeds, developed with Dow Chemical Co., will cost $130 an acre, 17 percent more than the YieldGard triple-stack seeds they will replace.
“Our pricing has the flexibility built in to ensure the grower captures the greatest return from his seed investment, irrespective of market volatility,” Chief Executive Officer Hugh Grant said today in a statement.
Grant is introducing new modified seeds that boost yields as part of a plan to double gross profit from 2007 to 2012. The new soybeans, which resist Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, produce 7.4 percent more soybeans per acre than the older version. SmartStax kills insects in multiple ways, reducing the amount of conventional corn that must be planted to deter insecticide resistance.
“SmartStax pricing is higher than we initially expected,” Vincent Andrews, a New York-based analyst at Morgan Stanley, said today in a report.
Monsanto rose $2.50, or 3 percent, to $84.96 at 10:30 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares gained 17 percent this year through yesterday.
Acreage Forecasts
SmartStax corn seed will be
planted on as many as 4 million acres in 2010, its first year on the market,
with a potential for as many as 65 million acres in the
Pricing for SmartStax is at the high end of expectations, Laurence Alexander, a New York-based analyst at Jefferies & Co., said by telephone.
Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean seeds were planted on 1.5
million acres this year and will be planted on as many as 8 million acres next
year in the
The company is pricing its seeds to share the benefit of
increased yields with farmers, said Mark Gulley, a
“They are in essence splitting the value of the extra yield 50-50,” Gulley said by telephone.
Monsanto repeated its forecast for earnings in the fiscal year that ends this month at the low end of a range of $4.40 to $4.50 a share. The average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for profit of $4.41 a share.
Seed industry strives to bolster collaboration
(ASTA) – Significant progress and alignment was achieved by the 27 representatives from the research community and the seed industry who met in late June to discuss research on commercial, patent-protected seed products and opportunities to improve the process overall.
Agricultural biotechnology has brought tremendous innovation to the seed industry. A system of regulatory oversight and mechanisms to protect intellectual property has evolved along with the development and commercialization of patent-protected seed products. For this reason, commercial purchases of biotech seed, such as by farmers, requires an accompanying agreement to meet environmental stewardship needs and regulations.
Agronomic studies by public sector scientists on commercially available seed have been and are routinely being conducted, and biotechnology companies provide researchers with access to this seed. Although companies support hundreds of research studies annually, procedures to enable this work have not always been as clear or straight forward as possible and can vary from company to company. Further, these processes are not always transparent within the university systems themselves, often creating an additional layer of challenges for the scientists in meeting their research goals.
As a result, earlier this year, some public sector researchers voiced the challenges they face in conducting research on commercially available seed with patent-protected traits. When these concerns were brought to the attention of two trade associations representing the seed industry and the agricultural biotechnology industry, the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), a meeting was proposed with the research community to better understand, discuss and address the points raised by the researchers.
The June 30 meeting brought together the appropriate industry representatives and members of the public sector research community around the same table to work toward a more harmonized and transparent approach to collaboration. Through this dialogue, both sides were able to gain insight into the others' concerns, address some misunderstandings and bring a sense of clarity and direction for public sector research with commercial, patent-protected seed products. The dialogue identified opportunities that will help improve the overall process.
The key to this significant progress was the seed industry's commitment to a set of principles supporting public sector research on commercially available, patent-protected seed products. The goal of the principles is to enable the public sector research community to conduct independent research on commercially available seed products for the purpose of understanding the technology, education, extension and the safe and effective use of these products. The principles also recognize that the public sector research community is free to design robust, scientifically sound experimental protocols and methodologies, as well as to derive independent conclusions.
Companies will facilitate these institutions' access to commercial, licensed technologies in a way that continues to assure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, respect for intellectual property and use of comprehensive stewardship programs that promote the responsible and safe management of these commercially available products.
In addition, the principles commit to a regular and ongoing dialogue between the seed industry and the public sector researchers and institutions.
A final version of the principles will be presented at the ASTA's Executive Committee of the Board of Directors on Sept. 17 and at BIO's Food and Agriculture Section Governing Board Sept. 10 for approval and adoption. Although every company must determine independently the terms under which it will implement these principles, they demonstrate the commitment of the seed and biotechnology industries to public sector research.
"Although the 'devil is in the details,' we'll have to see how each company implements the principles. However, it was reassuring to see that the seed industry is taking public researchers' concerns seriously and has made tremendous progress in developing consensus on a set of principles in support of public research," said Ken Ostlie, an entomologist at the University of Minnesota.
The collaborative group is exploring plans for the next meeting to foster an ongoing dialogue and fulfill the mission to support the public good through broad-based laboratory and field research programs, educational outreach, continued pursuit of knowledge using controlled and rigorous experiments, and publication in scientific and popular literature.
"I went into the meeting hopeful, but also somewhat
skeptical. Although I'm still a little wary, the seed companies represented at
the meeting seem committed to solving the problems we discussed. They certainly
can be solved, and I'm cautiously optimistic they will be," said one
researcher in attendance of the
"The seed industry continues to be strongly committed to supporting research by public sector scientists," responded ASTA President and CEO Andy LaVigne. "This research ensures agricultural technologies are used responsibly in the environment, deliver value to growers, and provide food, feed, fiber and fuel for a growing world."
DNA research helps sweeten Texas
(
Plant breeders now have a better chance to pinpoint such traits for new varieties, because the melon genome with hundreds of DNA markers has been mapped by scientists with Texas AgriLife Research. That means tastier and healthier melons are likely for future summer picnics.
"This will help us anchor down some of the desirable genes to develop better melon varieties," said Dr. Kevin Crosby, who completed the study with Drs. Soon O. Park and Hye Hwang. "We can identify specific genes for higher sugar content, disease resistance and even drought tolerance."
The results are reported in the Journal of the American Society of Horticultural Sciences.
Melons are fleshy, edible cucurbits grown worldwide in a multitude of varieties. Not only are they economically important, the scientists noted, but they are a favorite among consumers internationally.
The average person in the
Scientists from
For the study, the Deltex ananas melon was crossed with a wild melon called TGR 1551.
More than 100 of the offspring from that cross were grown in the AgriLife
Research greenhouses at
DNA was extracted from leaf tissue collected 21 days after planting. Results from these tests were integrated into partial maps created by other researchers.
Previous knowledge of melon DNA was like two sets of directions--one
from
In addition to the complete map, the researchers located genetic markers linked to fruit sugars, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and male sterility, which is useful for developing hybrid varieties.
The trio said the genetic map will be helpful for future studies in identifying fruit sweetness, quality, size, shape and resistance to disease.
Melon harvest shut down over heat rules
(Bakersfield.com)
– State inspectors shut down a
Members of a multi-agency enforcement team said they found 17 employees of Bakersfield-based Uri Brothers Farm Inc. working in temperatures above 90 degrees with no access to shade and no cups for water, among other violations, including no lunch breaks and cash in lieu of paychecks.
A representative of the company,
"I guess most of those things ... may be true but not all of them," Kim said.
Lee could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Two inspectors said they arrived at the company's watermelon
patch at
Four more employees were found in a nearby radish field working without adequate water or shade, inspector Aston Ling said.
The inspectors said they continued on to a company packing shed two miles from the field and discovered machinery without safety protections.
While an investigation could take up to six months, and could lead to fines, the watermelon operation could resume soon if the company meets state requirements, said Erika Monterroza, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Industrial Relations.
Monterroza said three agriculture workers died of heat-related illness statewide last year. None have been confirmed this year, she said.
The state performed 1,018 surprise inspections of work sites in 2007, 2,583 in 2008 and 1,971 this year through July 29, Monterroza said. During that time, she said, employer compliance with state heat precautions has increased from 52 percent to 85 percent.
America
(Wire Services) –
American Farmland Trust designed the online contest to promote the economic and social value of farmers markets in communities, and to bring attention to the need for consumers and communities to recognize the necessity of local farm and ranchland to the existence of local food.
"Customers can visit our website and learn the top 20 markets in each of
three market categories," says Kirchner. The top three markets for each
category are:
· Small Markets (1-30 vendors) Collingswood Farmers Market,
· Medium Markets (31-55 vendors) Willamsburg Farmers Market,
·
Large Markets (56 or more vendors) Davis Farmers
Market,
The top three markets will each receive a shipment of "No Farms No FoodR" recyclable tote bags to give away to the customers who made their top finish possible.
"It's been great fun to watch this promotion unfold," says
Kirchner. "We hope that all of the markets have seen increased interest in
and visitors to their markets as a result of the promotion, and that they
will participate in next year's contest."
AFT will announce further information on the winners and ongoing efforts to support and promote farmers markets through its website and other media.
End Transmission