MON's Genuity VT Gets EPA Nod

Monsanto Company’s (MON - Analyst Report) Genuity® VT Double PRO® RIB Complete™ has recently received registration from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), completing federal regulatory authorization in the United States. This single-bag refuge solution is expected to help farmers in the US corn-belt simplify the planting process while protecting the crops from pests with the guarantee of overall refuge compliance for the crops.

Monsanto was the first in the industry to offer farmers a single-bag refuge solution with Genuity® SmartStax® RIB Complete™. The new VT Double PRO will now be more specialized for managing above-ground pests. However, commercialization of the new product is awaiting individual state authorizations and notifications, as required.

The registration of the new refuge is another aggressive move toward its refuge options; synonymously making corn production and refuge compliance in a single bag. The company is hopeful that the demand for the product will rise in near future. Monsanto plans to offer the product through its brands and licensees across the corn-growing area by 2012.

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of agricultural products for farmers, operating in Seeds and Genomics and Agricultural Productivity segments. Monsanto’s biotechnology research and innovations position it as a market leader above its peers, such as Syngenta AG (SYT - Analyst Report), The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co (SMG - Snapshot Report), The Dow Chemical Company (DOW - Analyst Report) and BASF SE.

We currently maintain a long-term Outperform recommendation on the stock.