Bayer and Monsanto enter long-term agreements

MONHEIM, Germany — Bayer CropScience AG and Monsanto Co., two of the leading agribusinesses worldwide, have entered into a series of long-term business and licensing agreements related to key enabling agricultural technologies.

Within the framework of these agreements, Bayer will grant Monsanto a royalty-bearing, non-exclusive license for its LibertyLink herbicide tolerance technology for use in corn and soybeans, the two largest field crops in terms of acreage in the United States.

The agreements provide Monsanto with an option to market corn and soybean seeds which contain both Monsanto’s Roundup Ready and Bayer’s LibertyLink technologies, which could provide farmers with additional weed management solutions.

Monsanto and Bayer also amended certain existing agreements in the area of herbicide tolerance to provide each other more favorable terms.

In the area of insect resistance, the two companies have also entered into a royalty-bearing agreement giving Bayer rights under certain Monsanto intellectual property.

In addition, the companies amended other agreements related to insect-protection technologies, including Monsanto’s existing non-exclusive, royalty-bearing license for use of Bayer’s Dual Bt technology.

This enables Monsanto to commercialize products containing multiple insect resistance genes with different modes of action.
As part of the agreements, Monsanto and Bayer cross-licensed each other under their respective patent estates for RNAi technology, an important enabling technology for the development of new agricultural products.

Dow successfully applies ZFP technology to crops

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Dow AgroSciences, LLC and Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced successful completion of research milestones as part of their joint Research and Commercial License Agreement.

These milestones represent the successful application of Sangamo’s zinc finger DNA-binding protein (ZFP) technology to the generation of specific traits in two major crop species – maize and canola.

These milestones include the first demonstration of ZFP Nucleases (ZFN)-mediated targeted integration of DNA into a native gene in maize and the first demonstration of targeting a native gene in canola with ZFNs.

Sangamo scientists recently published data demonstrating the introduction of a “gene-sized fragment” of DNA into a specific location in the human genome via ZFN-mediated targeted gene addition. Dow scientists have similarly used Sangamo-designed ZFNs to successfully target native genes in crops with extraordinary molecular precision.

The three-year agreement initiated in October 2005 provides Dow with access to Sangamo’s proprietary ZFP technology for the development of products in plants and plant cell cultures.
During the initial three-year research term, Dow has the option to obtain a commercial license to sell products incorporating or derived from plant cells generated using Sangamo’s ZFP technology, including agricultural crops, industrial products and plant-derived biopharmaceuticals.

ZFPs are the dominant class of naturally occurring transcription factors (TFs) in organisms from yeast to humans. Transcription factors, which are found in the nucleus of every cell, bind to DNA to regulate gene expression. The ability to selectively control specific genes is emerging as a critical tool in modern biotechnology. For example, Sangamo has demonstrated that plant oils can be improved using ZFP TFs.

Sangamo has also developed sequence-specific ZFN for precision gene modification and targeted gene insertion.

Pioneer invests $25,000 in ISA environmental efforts

URBANDALE, Iowa — The Iowa Soybean Assoc.’s (ISA) Ag Technology and Environmental Stewardship Foun-dation (ATESF) has received a grant from Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, to continue coordination of ISA's environmental programs.

ATESF helps farmers succeed agronomically, economically and environmentally through a suite of programs that show farmers how to evaluate and adjust management and conservation practices on farms. Beyond being effective, the ISA programs must also provide affordable, broadly-available and workable solutions for all farming operations.

Ray Gaessar, Corning farmer and president of both ATESF and the Iowa Soybean Assoc., thanked Pioneer Community Investments for expanding its support. “Pioneer’s steady commitment to our innovative Environmental Programs helps our producers take leadership in their watersheds and on their farms. These private grants are a key element in helping us advance performance-based agriculture,” he said.

Steve Schaaf, program manager for Pioneer, said the broad coalition assembled by ISA in its work was a key element in the decision to support the work. “In making this decision, we noted the broad range of groups involved, including landowners, universities and groups such as The Nature Conservancy. This, and the involvement of willing landowners, should help to ensure the program’s success,” he said.

For more information on ISA’s environmental programs, go to www.isafarmnet.com

This farm news was published in the June 27, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.