AG launches seed inquiry on Monsanto

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel is launching an inquiry into the marketing practices of Monsanto Co. and its Roundup Ready 2 Yield (RR2) soybean trait.

In a Civil Investigative Demand sent Thursday to Monsanto’s general counsel, McDaniel asked the company to produce information to substantiate its claims that the RR2 trait produces higher yields than the less costly Roundup Ready (RR1) trait. Monsanto has cited the higher yields as justification for announced price increases of as much as 42 percent for RR2 soybeans compared to RR1.

“With production costs rising year after year, it’s more important than ever that Arkansas farmers have confidence in the investments they make in their crops,” McDaniel said. “It’s my responsibility as the state’s consumer advocate to gather information from Monsanto and determine whether our farmers are paying for a product that works as advertised.”

Monsanto says it hasn’t received a copy of McDaniel’s request, but defended its trait and the yields it produces. The company also says that a preliminary review of sales data shows that no Arkansas farmers planted the beans with the trait cited in 2009.

Monsanto has consistently claimed that Roundup Ready 2 soybeans produce significantly higher yields than Roundup Ready 1 soybeans. However, independent tests have questioned whether RR2 soybeans can deliver such high yields.  Some studies even suggested that RR1 yields were better than RR2 yields in some areas of the country.

Arkansas farmers planted more than 3 million acres of soybeans in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Monsanto said it would cooperate with McDaniel on the inquiry but has not yet received a copy of the civil investigative demand (CID) from the Attorney General’s office. They have reviewed a copy of the press release distributed by his office and believe the Arkansas Attorney General’s comments are based on a misunderstanding of the yield advantages of Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield. Test trial plots conducted in Arkansas in 2009 demonstrate that the technology delivered an average of four more bushels per acre when compared with the first-generation Roundup Ready soybean technology.

“Monsanto will cooperate with the Attorney General on this inquiry and continue to provide information on the benefits of Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans, including first-hand yield results from this year’s harvest,” Scott Partridge, Chief Deputy General Counsel for Monsanto, said.

The comments included in this press release are similar to a request the company received from the Attorney General’s office in West Virginia in June. In 2009, two West Virginia farmers planted the technology according to a preliminary review of sales data.

“While we understand that DuPont/Pioneer is distributing misleading information on this technology to stakeholders, we believe the facts are clear — independent data and our own multiyear results show that Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield has a multi-year track record of delivering better yield to farmers,” Partridge said.

Monsanto reaffirmed its confidence in this next-generation soybean technology. The company also confirmed that its records reflect no reported complaints with the technology this season.

In 2009, approximately 16,000 U.S. soybean farmers planted Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans on 1.6 million acres. And twice as many U.S. farmers planted on 6 million acres this season, according to the comapny.

Ultimately, farmers determine what seed they want to plant and continue to use in subsequent seasons based on their first-hand on-farm experience.