Achievements
in Plant
Biotechnology
2000

Roundup Ready soybeans with in-plant tolerance to Roundup herbicides have achieved significant success among growers since their commercial introduction in 1996. The Monsanto system offers growers control of a wider variety of weeds than any other system - a technical and economic advantage that enables them to save energy and reduce the number and amount of herbicides they use. The Roundup Ready system is safe for crops and particularly well-suited to conservation tillage techniques, which have important economic and environmental benefits.

Over 200 U.S. seed companies, including Monsanto's Asgrow, DEKALB and Hartz brands, sold Roundup Ready soybean seed in 2000. Improved crop performance (including higher yield) in a wider selection of soybean varieties is a major reason why over 50 percent of all U.S. soybean acres were planted in Roundup Ready varieties last year.

Benefits
Planted on more acres than any other biotech crop, Roundup Ready soybeans continued to provide significant economic and yield benefits to developed and developing country growers in 2000. From the U.S. and Canada to Argentina, Romania and Mexico, surveyed growers rated Roundup Ready soybeans as a good to excellent value.

In the U.S., 91 percent of surveyed Roundup Ready soybean growers reported they were more satisfied with Roundup Ready soybeans than with conventional varieties. When they were asked to compare the value of Roundup Ready soybeans to conventional ones, 88 percent of surveyed growers rated the Roundup Ready system as a better value. Overall, surveyed U.S. growers reported a $14.08 per acre economic benefit from the Roundup Ready system.

An independent study conducted in 2000 by PSL Genetics of Tipton, Indiana, found that Asgrow Roundup Ready soybeans grown in the U.S. provided an average 2.4 bushel per acre yield advantage over Pioneer conventional soybeans, and that Monsanto brand Roundup Ready soybeans (Asgrow and DEKALB) provided higher yields than Pioneer Roundup Ready soybeans.

In Canada, 6,000 growers used Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybean/ Roundup Transorb herbicide system last year. Ninety-six percent of surveyed growers reported satisfaction with Monsanto's products, citing cleaner fields, the proven performance of Roundup Transorb and the simplicity of the system as their key reasons for using Monsanto technology.

The study also found that the Roundup Ready soybean system yielded four bushels per acre more than the conventional system.

There was economic benefit as well, according to a study conducted in 2000 by Clarence Swanton and William Dean of the University of Guelph in Canada. Swanton and Dean found an average US$199 per acre gross return in fields where Roundup herbicide was used for a preplant burndown and in-crop weed control, as compared to a US$167 average gross return in fields where weeds were controlled using conventional treatment (Roundup burndown plus Pursuit® ). The study also found that the Roundup Ready soybean system yielded four bushels per acre more than the conventional system.

In Argentina, Roundup Ready soybeans yielded about the same as conventional varieties in 2000; nonetheless, Argentine farmers realized economic benefits from the Monsanto system in the form of decreased herbicide costs and greater farming efficiency. Many farmers planted Roundup Ready soybeans last year on acres previously devoted to pastureland or other crops.

2000 marked the second commercial year for Roundup Ready soybeans in Romania. Here, Roundup Ready soybean acreage was up 74,000 acres from the product's introductory year. Ninety-five percent of surveyed growers reported good to excellent performance from Roundup Ready soybeans versus conventional varieties. In spite of severe drought in Romania in 2000, which depressed yield in both biotech and conventional soybeans, Monsanto's Roundup Ready system provided growers with 3.7 tons of soybeans per acre versus only 2.2 tons per acre in conventional systems.

Roundup Ready soybeans were sold commercially in Mexico for the first time in 2000 (in 1999, the seed was sold to a small number of farmers by government permit only). Eighty percent of Roundup Ready soybean growers surveyed in 2000 reported satisfaction with the product. They said lower-cost weed control, better weed control and the system's fit with conservation tillage practices were its primary benefits. On average, Roundup Ready soybean yield in Mexico was equal to or better than conventional soybean varieties and provided growers with an average economic advantage of US$20 per acre.

The benefits Mexican and Romanian farmers continue to gain from Roundup Ready soybeans is important evidence of the ability of developing country farmers to use this technology effectively and potentially enjoy significant financial gains.

In 2000, government approval to import Roundup Ready soybeans into Poland, Korea, Russia and Thailand was granted.

Regulatory Progress and Innovations
In 2000, government approval to import Roundup Ready soybeans into Poland, Korea, Russia and Thailand was granted, further increasing the number of markets available to growers. Efforts continued last year to gain regulatory approval for Monsanto's enhanced soybeans in Brazil and India. Note: Pursuit® is a registered trademark of BASF.