Monsanto Company and Perdue Incorporated announced today that Perdue’s Grain & Oilseed Division will process Monsanto’s VISTIVE™ low-linolenic soybeans in 2007 at its facility in Salisbury, Maryland, and will market VISTIVE soybean oil for use by the food industry.

VISTIVE low-linolenic soybeans reduce the need for partial hydrogenation of soybean oil, helping food companies reduce or eliminate the presence of trans fatty acids (trans fats) in their products.

For the 2007 growing season, Perdue will contract with growers in Maryland and Delaware, targeting 30,000 acres of VISTIVE soybean production. Perdue will pay a premium to producers who grow VISTIVE soybeans under contract, then will crush and sell the processed soybean oil to food companies.

VISTIVE soybeans, developed through conventional breeding, contain less than three percent linolenic acid as compared to the typical eight percent level found in traditional soybeans. The result is more stable soybean oil, with less need for hydrogenation. Because soybeans with a lower linolenic acid level reduce the need for partial hydrogenation, their application in processed soybean oils will reduce the presence of trans fats in processed soybean oil.

“Food companies are very interested in reducing trans fats, so we are expanding acreage and geography of VISTIVE soybeans to make them more available to food companies. We are very pleased to work with Perdue to make oil from VISTIVE soybeans available to food company facilities on the East Coast,” said Ernesto Fajardo, Vice President of U.S. Crop Production for Monsanto.

“VISTIVE not only supports growing consumer demand for healthier foods, but also represents an important investment in the future success of the U.S. soybean industry. In addition, this agreement expands the growing area for VISTIVE, giving more farmers the opportunity to grow this value-added soybean,” Fajardo said.
Perdue Incorporated Chairman Jim Perdue said, “Perdue is excited about the opportunity VISTIVE brings to both soybean growers on the Eastern Shore and our food company customers who are seeking to lower the trans fat content of their products. Adding value to growers’ crops and offering solutions to customers is good news for agriculture.”

The development of VISTIVE low-linolenic soybeans is significant because, as of Jan. 1, 2006, all food products and dietary supplements bearing a nutritional facts panel that are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and sold in the United States were required to list trans fat content. Kellogg Company, for instance, announced in December that it is using oil from VISTIVE low-linolenic soybeans as part of a major initiative to reduce or eliminate trans fats in a number of its products.

Monsanto is expanding acreage production in 2007 to include Ohio and Maryland, as well as Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska, where these soybeans are currently being grown. VISTIVE soybeans have the Roundup Ready® trait and maintain performance parity with other commercial soybean varieties. For 2007, VISTIVE will be available in Monsanto’s Asgrow® brand as well as Campbell Seed, CROPLAN Genetics®, Crow’s, Dyna-Gro® Seed, FS HiSOY® and Vigoro® Seeds. VISTIVE low-linolenic soybeans are available in an additional 21 seed brands primarily sold in areas west of Maryland and Delaware. For a complete list of available seed brands, visit www.monsanto.com.

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