Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

Court Allows Continued Use of GM Sugarbeets—For Now

[Sugarbeets are a minor crop for MON; for investors, this case is of interest more for getting a read on the current legal/regulatory environment than for ascertaining what MON’s EPS numbers will be.]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Judge-Denies-Injunction-prnews-3403026170.html?x=0&.v=1

›March 16, 2010, 7:02 pm EDT

ST. LOUIS, March 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey S. White denied the motion for a preliminary injunction in the Roundup Ready® sugarbeet case late today. This decision allows growers to continue planting Roundup Ready sugarbeet varieties across the United States this spring.

"This ruling provides clarity that farmers can plant Roundup Ready sugarbeets in 2010," said Steve Welker, Monsanto Company's (NYSE:MON) sugarbeet business manager.

On March 5, Judge White held a hearing to decide if preliminary injunctive relief was necessary or appropriate, pending completion of the remedies process later this summer.

Roundup Ready sugarbeets have been successfully planted in North America for the past four years. This decision allows sugarbeet growers to proceed with planting this year's crop. In the next phase of this case, we look forward to demonstrating that a broad permanent injunction is not appropriate.

Sugarbeet growers have confirmed that Roundup Ready sugarbeets reduce impacts on the environment and make their operations more efficient and productive. Alternative technologies require more applications of pesticides, with greater impacts on the environment and lower productivity on farms.

More than 1 million acres of Roundup Ready sugarbeet varieties have been planted in 10 U.S. states and in two Canadian provinces. In North America last year, roughly 95 percent of the sugarbeet acreage was safely planted with Roundup Ready varieties.

The next court date is scheduled for July 9, 2010 in San Francisco. The Sugar Industry Biotech Council has also posted a statement on the SIBC Website.‹