Monsanto and Bayer CropScience cross license herbicide tolerance traits in Canola

Monsanto Company and Bayer CropScience have agreed to cross license their respective herbicide tolerance traits in canola on a non-exclusive basis for commercialisation 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.

''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 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.''

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience AG, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology.

Monsanto Company is an agricultural company and a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.