Monsanto and Corteva Agriscience expand licensing agreement for Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® Technology

Monsanto Company and Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), announced today the companies have reached an agreement on an expanded license for Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® technology for soybeans. Through this non-exclusive, royalty bearing license, Corteva Agriscience™ will offer U.S. and Canadian growers additional weed control flexibility through broader access to Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® technology across its North America seed brand portfolio. Specifically, the technology can be incorporated into the Mycogen® and Dairyland Seed® brands in the U.S. and the Brevant™ seed brand in Canada.

Soybeans containing the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® trait are the industry's first biotech-stacked soybeans with both dicamba and glyphosate herbicide tolerance, and are built on the high-yielding Roundup Ready 2 Yield® technology. Additional terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.

“This announcement underscores our commitment to expanding choices for growers to select the appropriate genetic and trait combinations for their farms,” said Mike Dillon, Corteva Agriscience™ Global Portfolio Leader – Soybeans. “Corteva Agriscience™ has one of the broadest herbicide portfolios for soybean weed control in the industry. The additional flexibility to add Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® technology to the portfolios of more of our trusted brands allows growers additional options for approved dicamba formulations in their soybean weed management programs.”

“Monsanto’s commitment to broad licensing is unwavering, and this agreement will provide greater grower choice and make the entire industry stronger,” said Monsanto Global Corn and Soy Technology Lead Calvin Treat. “Several factors contribute to strong and productive soybean fields. The proven advantages of the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® technology are owed to two core fundamentals: clean fields and strong yields. Based on these advantages, Monsanto has seen strong adoption of the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® technology over the last two years and expects the technology to reach 40 million acres in 2018.”