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Winnipeg, Canada, and Monheim, Germany (June, 29, 2009) -- Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) and Bayer CropScience have agreed to cross license their respective herbicide tolerance traits in canola on a non-exclusive basis for commercialization within their respective branded canola seed businesses.

Under the terms of this global agreement, Monsanto will grant Bayer CropScience access to Monsanto’s Genuity™ Roundup Ready® canola trait and Bayer CropScience will grant Monsanto access to its LibertyLink® tolerance trait for use in canola. The agreement also includes specified rights to access, on a non-exclusive basis, future herbicide tolerance traits and other agronomic traits that may be introduced by either party for use in canola. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Bayer looks forward to providing canola growers with greater choice and flexibility in the future,” said Dr. Joachim Schneider, Head of the BioScience Business Unit at Bayer CropScience. “LibertyLink® and Genuity™ Roundup Ready® are the two leading weed control systems available in the marketplace today and growers will be able to choose our seed with either system, or even both, in about three to four years time.”

This global agreement between the two trait developers enhances the opportunity to bring new and improved solutions to Canadian canola growers.

“This agreement builds on our practice of broadly licensing our technologies to bring value to western Canadian farmers,” said Neil Arbuckle, Monsanto’s Canola Business Development Lead. “Canola oil is one of the healthiest oils available and as such, the Canadian canola industry plays a key role in the global vegetable oil market. With this new agreement, Canadian farmers will benefit from greater access to new traits and new technologies that will help ensure canola remains competitive in the global marketplace.”

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