AgroPages-Monsanto expects U.S. approval for new soybean in 2014-Agricultural news

Monsanto expects to begin selling new soybean seeds resistant to a broader range of herbicides in 2016 pending regulatory approvals in major agricultural countries, executives said on Wednesday.

The seeds, so-called Roundup Ready 2Xtend soybeans, which Monsanto intends to pair with a new and stronger weedkiller, are "on track for U.S. regulatory approval toward the end of the year" and are expected to earn international approvals in 2015, according to Robert Fraley, Monsanto's chief technology officer.

"That will allow us to do large-scale seed production next spring and next summer," Mr. Fraley told analysts and investors at an event Monsanto hosted in Iowa.

This soybean variety is designed to withstand sprayings of glyphosate as well as dicamba.

The USDA earlier this month issued a draft review for the Monsanto soybean seeds as well as cotton seeds also resistant to dicamba, marking a step forward in the review process, though not a final approval.

USDA officials in early August wrote in a notice that broader use of dicamba ran the risk of more weeds developing resistance to that herbicide, but that farmers could balance this with a broader range of tactics to kill weeds. The agency's preference is to approve the product, according to the USDA notice, and its analysis now is open to public comment.

Monsanto already has licensed the genetics that enable the seeds to resist the weedkillers to North American seed companies which supply 90% of all U.S. farmland planted with soybeans, Mr. Fraley said. Those companies will pay to incorporate Monsanto's genetics into their own seeds.