Monument Circle Acquisition Corp (MON)

[Democritus_of_Abdera]

Re: Refuge-in-a-Bag...

As I mentioned in #msg-43809790, Pioneer Hi-Bred’s Optimum AcreMax (Refuge-in-a Bag) could be a serious short-term headache for Monsanto if the EPA approves the requested 5% mix. On the other hand, approval as a 20% mix would be very favorable to Monsanto since SmartStax would not have a serious competitor with regard to refuge reduction.

Pioneer has indicated that they expected an EPA decision soon. So, I was keen to hear what DD said regarding this topic in their CC today. In fact, very little was said. The only reference to this product was in the Q&A:

<Jeff Zekauskas from JPMorgan> Hi. Good morning. I think DuPont’s been expecting some approvals on refuge reduction in corn in the United States for maybe six months that haven’t yet come through. Have you changed your attitude toward the probability of being granted the reduction? Or is there some change in your refuge reduction strategy going forward?

<Ellen J. Kullman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer DD> There’s no change in our strategy going forward, Jeff. We expect, as you know, and I stated that I personally as I’ve analyzed it, remain confident that we will bring this into North America this season. The EPA has indicated support for refuge in a bag. Now what number they come out with, we’ll see. But I remain positively disposed, in terms of the way the discussions that we’ve been having with them. So while we’re not going to speculate on it, I remain confident in it.