edited by parsley beccause of length:
"Monsanto seed business role revealed
ADVANCE FOR MONDAY Dec. 14; chart shows Monsanto Co.'s soybean and corn
AP - ADVANCE FOR MONDAY Dec. 14; chart shows Monsanto Co.'s soybean and
corn acreage since
Related Quotes Symbol Price Change
MON 83.24 0.14
MSFT 30.18 0.07
SYNN 0.00 0.00
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD, AP Agribusiness Writer Christopher Leonard, Ap
Agribusiness Writer - Sun Dec 13, 1:45 pm ET
ST. LOUIS - Confidential contracts detailing Monsanto Co.'s business
practices reveal how the world's biggest seed developer is squeezing
competitors, controlling smaller seed companies and protecting its dominance over the multibillion-dollar market for genetically altered crops, an Associated Press investigation has found."
"With Monsanto's patented genes being inserted into roughly 95 percent of
all soybeans and 80 percent of all corn grown in the U.S.,...." .
"Monsanto's methods are spelled out in a series of confidential commercial licensing agreements obtained by the AP. The contracts, as long as 30 pages, include basic terms for the selling of engineered crops resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, along with shorter supplementary agreements that address new Monsanto traits or other contract amendments."
"The company has used the agreements to spread its technology - giving some 200 smaller companies the right to insert Monsanto's genes in their
separate strains of corn and soybean plants. But, the AP found, access
to Monsanto's genes comes at a cost, and with plenty of strings attached."
"one contract provision bans independent companies from breeding plants that contain both Monsanto's genes and the genes of any of its competitors, unless Monsanto gives prior written permission - giving Monsanto the ability to effectively lock out competitors from inserting their patented traits into the vast share of U.S. crops that already contain Monsanto's genes."
"Monsanto's business strategies and licensing agreements are being
investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and at least two state
attorneys general..",
"The practices also are at the heart of civil antitrust suits filed against Monsanto by its competitors, including a 2004 suit filed by Syngenta AG that was settled with an agreement and
ongoing litigation filed this summer by DuPont in response to a Monsanto
lawsuit."
"We do not believe there is any merit to allegations about our licensing
agreement or the terms within," said Monsanto spokesman Lee Quarles."
"We now believe that Monsanto has control over as much as 90 percent of
(seed genetics). This level of control is almost unbelievable," said Neil Harl,... Iowa State University "
"The upshot of that is that it's tightening Monsanto's control, and makes it possible for them to increase their prices long term."
"At issue is how much power one company can have over seeds, the foundation of the world's food supply. Without stiff competition, Monsanto could raise its seed prices at will,..."
"Monsanto increased some corn seed
prices last year by 25 percent, with an additional 7 percent hike planned for corn seeds in 2010. Monsanto brand soybean seeds climbed 28 percent last year and will be flat or up 6 percent in 2010, said company spokeswoman Kelli Powers."
"Monsanto's broad use of licensing agreements has made its biotech traits
among the most widely and rapidly adopted technologies in farming
history. These days, when farmers buy bags of seed with obscure brand
names like AgVenture or M-Pride Genetics, they are paying for Monsanto's licensed products."
"One of the numerous provisions in the licensing agreements is a ban on mixing genes - or "stacking" in industry lingo - that enhance Monsanto's power."
"One contract provision likely helped Monsanto buy 24 independent seed
companies throughout the Farm Belt over the last few years: that corn
seed agreement says that if a smaller company changes ownership, its inventory with Monsanto's traits "shall be destroyed immediately."
"One contract gave an independent seed company deep discounts if the company ensured that Monsanto's products would make up 70 percent of its total corn seed inventory. In its 2004 lawsuit, Syngenta called the discounts part of Monsanto's "scorched earth campaign" to keep Syngenta's new traits out of the market."
"Quarles said the discounts were used to entice seed companies to carry
Monsanto products when the technology was new and farmers hadn't yet
used it. Now that the products are widespread, Monsanto has discontinued
the discounts, he said."
"The Monsanto contracts reviewed by the AP prohibit seed companies from
discussing terms, and Monsanto has the right to cancel deals and wipe
out the inventory of a business if the confidentiality clauses are violated."
"Thomas Terral, chief executive officer of Terral Seed in Louisiana, said he recently rejected a Monsanto contract because it put too many
restrictions on his business. But Terral refused to provide the unsigned
contract to AP or even discuss its contents because he was afraid
Monsanto would retaliate and cancel the rest of his agreements."
"I would be so tied up in what I was able to do that basically I would
have no value to anybody else," he said. "The only person I would have
value to is Monsanto, and I would continue to pay them millions in fees."
Monsanto acknowledged that U.S. Department of Justice lawyers are
seeking documents and interviewing company employees about its marketing
practices. The DOJ wouldn't comment.
"Monsanto chairman and chief executive officer Hugh Grant told investment
analysts during a conference call this fall that the price increases are
justified by the productivity boost farmers get from the company's
seeds."
"It's just like I got hit with bad weather and got a poor yield. It just
means I've got less in the bottom line," said Markus Reinke, a corn and
soybean farmer near Concordia, Mo. who took over his family's farm in
1965. "They can charge because they can do it, and get away with it. And
us farmers just complain, and shake our heads and go along with it."
"Monsanto was only a niche player in the seed business just 12 years ago.
It rose to the top thanks to innovation by its scientists and aggressive use of patent law by its attorneys."
"First came the science, when Monsanto in 1996 introduced the world's
first commercial strain of genetically engineered soybeans. "
"The company soon released other genetically altered crops, such as corn plants that produced a natural pesticide to ward off bugs. While
Monsanto had blockbuster products, it didn't yet have a big foothold in
a seed industry made up of hundreds of companies that supplied farmers."
"That's where the legal innovations came in, as Monsanto became among the
first to widely patent its genes and gain the right to strictly control
how they were used. That control let it spread its technology through
licensing agreements, while shaping the marketplace around them."
"Back in the 1970s, public universities developed new traits for corn and soybean seeds that made them grow hardy and resist pests. Small seed companies got the traits cheaply and could blend them to breed superior
crops without restriction. But the agreements give Monsanto control over
mixing multiple biotech traits into crops."
"The restrictions even apply to taxpayer-funded researchers."
"Quarles pointed out that Monsanto has signed agreements with several
companies allowing them to stack their traits with Monsanto's. After
Syngenta settled its lawsuit, for example, the companies struck a broad
cross-licensing accord."
"At the same time, Monsanto's patent rights give it the authority to say
how independent companies use its traits, Quarles said."
"Please also keep in mind that, as the (intellectual property
developer), it is our right to determine who will obtain rights to our technology and for what purpose," he said."
"Monsanto's provision requiring companies to destroy seeds containing
Monsanto's traits if a competitor buys them prohibited DuPont or other big firms from bidding against Monsanto when it snapped up two dozen smaller seed companies over the last five years, said David Boies, a lawyer representing DuPont who previously was a prosecutor on the federal antitrust case against Microsoft Corp."
"Competitive bids from companies like DuPont could have made it far more
expensive for Monsanto to bring the smaller companies into its fold. But
that contract provision prevented bidding wars, according to DuPont."
"If the independent seed company is losing their license and has to
destroy their seeds, they're not going to have anything, in effect, to
sell," Boies said. "It requires them to destroy things - destroy things
they paid for - if they go competitive. That's exactly the kind of restriction on competitive choice that the antitrust laws outlaw."
"Quarles said some of the Monsanto contracts let companies sell their
inventory for a period of time, rather than be required to destroy it.
Seed companies also don't have to pay royalty fees on the bags of seed
they destroyed."
"Simply put, it was designed to facilitate early adoption of the
technology," he said."
"Some independent seed company owners say they feel increasingly pinched
as Monsanto cements its leadership in the industry."
"They have the capital, they have the resources, they own lots of companies, and buying more. We're small town, they're Wall Street," said Bill Cook, co-owner of M-Pride Genetics seed company in Garden City, Mo., who also declined to discuss or provide the agreements. "It's very difficult to compete in this environment against companies like Monsanto."
Note from pars: Information for you to read. maybe one of the best investments you can make is right on the farm, and is to tuck away a few bags of old, non-Gm seed, say Harrington barley bags of seed. Old varieties. Those bags may be worth a lot of money someday when there is no seed left and the available seed royalty is so steep, you cannot afford it and have no seed left to plant.
Double bag and just tuck a few away for a rainy day....kinda like buying a generator in case the power goes out. Pars
"Monsanto seed business role revealed
ADVANCE FOR MONDAY Dec. 14; chart shows Monsanto Co.'s soybean and corn
AP - ADVANCE FOR MONDAY Dec. 14; chart shows Monsanto Co.'s soybean and
corn acreage since
Related Quotes Symbol Price Change
MON 83.24 0.14
MSFT 30.18 0.07
SYNN 0.00 0.00
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD, AP Agribusiness Writer Christopher Leonard, Ap
Agribusiness Writer - Sun Dec 13, 1:45 pm ET
ST. LOUIS - Confidential contracts detailing Monsanto Co.'s business
practices reveal how the world's biggest seed developer is squeezing
competitors, controlling smaller seed companies and protecting its dominance over the multibillion-dollar market for genetically altered crops, an Associated Press investigation has found."
"With Monsanto's patented genes being inserted into roughly 95 percent of
all soybeans and 80 percent of all corn grown in the U.S.,...." .
"Monsanto's methods are spelled out in a series of confidential commercial licensing agreements obtained by the AP. The contracts, as long as 30 pages, include basic terms for the selling of engineered crops resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, along with shorter supplementary agreements that address new Monsanto traits or other contract amendments."
"The company has used the agreements to spread its technology - giving some 200 smaller companies the right to insert Monsanto's genes in their
separate strains of corn and soybean plants. But, the AP found, access
to Monsanto's genes comes at a cost, and with plenty of strings attached."
"one contract provision bans independent companies from breeding plants that contain both Monsanto's genes and the genes of any of its competitors, unless Monsanto gives prior written permission - giving Monsanto the ability to effectively lock out competitors from inserting their patented traits into the vast share of U.S. crops that already contain Monsanto's genes."
"Monsanto's business strategies and licensing agreements are being
investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and at least two state
attorneys general..",
"The practices also are at the heart of civil antitrust suits filed against Monsanto by its competitors, including a 2004 suit filed by Syngenta AG that was settled with an agreement and
ongoing litigation filed this summer by DuPont in response to a Monsanto
lawsuit."
"We do not believe there is any merit to allegations about our licensing
agreement or the terms within," said Monsanto spokesman Lee Quarles."
"We now believe that Monsanto has control over as much as 90 percent of
(seed genetics). This level of control is almost unbelievable," said Neil Harl,... Iowa State University "
"The upshot of that is that it's tightening Monsanto's control, and makes it possible for them to increase their prices long term."
"At issue is how much power one company can have over seeds, the foundation of the world's food supply. Without stiff competition, Monsanto could raise its seed prices at will,..."
"Monsanto increased some corn seed
prices last year by 25 percent, with an additional 7 percent hike planned for corn seeds in 2010. Monsanto brand soybean seeds climbed 28 percent last year and will be flat or up 6 percent in 2010, said company spokeswoman Kelli Powers."
"Monsanto's broad use of licensing agreements has made its biotech traits
among the most widely and rapidly adopted technologies in farming
history. These days, when farmers buy bags of seed with obscure brand
names like AgVenture or M-Pride Genetics, they are paying for Monsanto's licensed products."
"One of the numerous provisions in the licensing agreements is a ban on mixing genes - or "stacking" in industry lingo - that enhance Monsanto's power."
"One contract provision likely helped Monsanto buy 24 independent seed
companies throughout the Farm Belt over the last few years: that corn
seed agreement says that if a smaller company changes ownership, its inventory with Monsanto's traits "shall be destroyed immediately."
"One contract gave an independent seed company deep discounts if the company ensured that Monsanto's products would make up 70 percent of its total corn seed inventory. In its 2004 lawsuit, Syngenta called the discounts part of Monsanto's "scorched earth campaign" to keep Syngenta's new traits out of the market."
"Quarles said the discounts were used to entice seed companies to carry
Monsanto products when the technology was new and farmers hadn't yet
used it. Now that the products are widespread, Monsanto has discontinued
the discounts, he said."
"The Monsanto contracts reviewed by the AP prohibit seed companies from
discussing terms, and Monsanto has the right to cancel deals and wipe
out the inventory of a business if the confidentiality clauses are violated."
"Thomas Terral, chief executive officer of Terral Seed in Louisiana, said he recently rejected a Monsanto contract because it put too many
restrictions on his business. But Terral refused to provide the unsigned
contract to AP or even discuss its contents because he was afraid
Monsanto would retaliate and cancel the rest of his agreements."
"I would be so tied up in what I was able to do that basically I would
have no value to anybody else," he said. "The only person I would have
value to is Monsanto, and I would continue to pay them millions in fees."
Monsanto acknowledged that U.S. Department of Justice lawyers are
seeking documents and interviewing company employees about its marketing
practices. The DOJ wouldn't comment.
"Monsanto chairman and chief executive officer Hugh Grant told investment
analysts during a conference call this fall that the price increases are
justified by the productivity boost farmers get from the company's
seeds."
"It's just like I got hit with bad weather and got a poor yield. It just
means I've got less in the bottom line," said Markus Reinke, a corn and
soybean farmer near Concordia, Mo. who took over his family's farm in
1965. "They can charge because they can do it, and get away with it. And
us farmers just complain, and shake our heads and go along with it."
"Monsanto was only a niche player in the seed business just 12 years ago.
It rose to the top thanks to innovation by its scientists and aggressive use of patent law by its attorneys."
"First came the science, when Monsanto in 1996 introduced the world's
first commercial strain of genetically engineered soybeans. "
"The company soon released other genetically altered crops, such as corn plants that produced a natural pesticide to ward off bugs. While
Monsanto had blockbuster products, it didn't yet have a big foothold in
a seed industry made up of hundreds of companies that supplied farmers."
"That's where the legal innovations came in, as Monsanto became among the
first to widely patent its genes and gain the right to strictly control
how they were used. That control let it spread its technology through
licensing agreements, while shaping the marketplace around them."
"Back in the 1970s, public universities developed new traits for corn and soybean seeds that made them grow hardy and resist pests. Small seed companies got the traits cheaply and could blend them to breed superior
crops without restriction. But the agreements give Monsanto control over
mixing multiple biotech traits into crops."
"The restrictions even apply to taxpayer-funded researchers."
"Quarles pointed out that Monsanto has signed agreements with several
companies allowing them to stack their traits with Monsanto's. After
Syngenta settled its lawsuit, for example, the companies struck a broad
cross-licensing accord."
"At the same time, Monsanto's patent rights give it the authority to say
how independent companies use its traits, Quarles said."
"Please also keep in mind that, as the (intellectual property
developer), it is our right to determine who will obtain rights to our technology and for what purpose," he said."
"Monsanto's provision requiring companies to destroy seeds containing
Monsanto's traits if a competitor buys them prohibited DuPont or other big firms from bidding against Monsanto when it snapped up two dozen smaller seed companies over the last five years, said David Boies, a lawyer representing DuPont who previously was a prosecutor on the federal antitrust case against Microsoft Corp."
"Competitive bids from companies like DuPont could have made it far more
expensive for Monsanto to bring the smaller companies into its fold. But
that contract provision prevented bidding wars, according to DuPont."
"If the independent seed company is losing their license and has to
destroy their seeds, they're not going to have anything, in effect, to
sell," Boies said. "It requires them to destroy things - destroy things
they paid for - if they go competitive. That's exactly the kind of restriction on competitive choice that the antitrust laws outlaw."
"Quarles said some of the Monsanto contracts let companies sell their
inventory for a period of time, rather than be required to destroy it.
Seed companies also don't have to pay royalty fees on the bags of seed
they destroyed."
"Simply put, it was designed to facilitate early adoption of the
technology," he said."
"Some independent seed company owners say they feel increasingly pinched
as Monsanto cements its leadership in the industry."
"They have the capital, they have the resources, they own lots of companies, and buying more. We're small town, they're Wall Street," said Bill Cook, co-owner of M-Pride Genetics seed company in Garden City, Mo., who also declined to discuss or provide the agreements. "It's very difficult to compete in this environment against companies like Monsanto."
Note from pars: Information for you to read. maybe one of the best investments you can make is right on the farm, and is to tuck away a few bags of old, non-Gm seed, say Harrington barley bags of seed. Old varieties. Those bags may be worth a lot of money someday when there is no seed left and the available seed royalty is so steep, you cannot afford it and have no seed left to plant.
Double bag and just tuck a few away for a rainy day....kinda like buying a generator in case the power goes out. Pars
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