For the fifth season, Monsanto will not collect a technology fee for the use of the Roundup Ready® trait. In place of the technology fee, a royalty system will be used for the seed companies that market Roundup Ready seed products.

Trelay combines the technology fee and the seed price into one price. No technology fees will be charged to growers; however, the same or increased value will be incorporated into the price to satisfy the royalty system. The 2006 prices will be set in the Fall of 2005.

The Roundup Ready trait is part of a system. It includes the seed, Roundup® herbicide, and Monsanto’s incentive program–Roundup Rewards®. As a system, the parts can vary in price, with the overall cost remaining relatively the same. In other words, herbicide prices can move up and down as can royalties. The basic concept is built on a system approach with built-in incentives to use the system.

The seed component contains the gene for resistance to Roundup herbicide. Due to this invention, Roundup can be applied to a soybean or corn crop, as well as an alfalfa crop now, and weeds are controlled. For seed producers, seed purity now includes purity of the trait. Additional costs for testing, seed stock, and handling cleanups are incurred to maintain the purity levels required to sell Roundup Ready seed. To arrive at the per acre cost of the Roundup Ready system, the seed cost must be predictable. Trelay’s SoyCount system prices soybean seed by the kernel. This allows an accurate cost per acre when purchasing your Roundup Ready soybean seed.

The herbicide part of the system is Roundup. Formulations have been improved with Roundup WeatherMAX™, the most current and effective form of Roundup available today. There are competitive herbicides to Roundup, however, Monsanto invented it originally, has worked with it the longest, and continues to improve the formulations. The price of the herbicide must be taken into account when deciding to use the Roundup Ready system.

Lastly, Monsanto has incentives in place for growers to gain value from the Roundup Ready system. Roundup Rewards® includes the enhancements listed.

• Trait Investment Refund – Protection of warehoused seed prior to planting.
• Trait Crop Loss Refund – Protection of lost technology crop that cannot be replanted.
• Trait Replant Refund – Protection of lost technology crop, when replanted to a qualifying Monsanto technology crop.
• Roundup WeatherMAX Warranty – Assurance that Monsanto will stand behind applications of Roundup WeatherMAX.
• Roundup WeatherMAX Crop Safety Warranty – If application of Roundup WeatherMAX, over-the-top of any Roundup Ready crop, results in an economic crop injury, Monsanto will provide a refund of up to $20/A on the affected area.
• 30-Minute Rainfast Warranty – If your field requires respraying due to rain a half hour or more after application.
• Roundup Weather MAX Weed Control Cost-Share for Roundup Ready Soybeans – If you implement the Monsanto recommended weed control program, Monsanto will provide up to 8 oz./A of Roundup WeatherMAX, at no cost, if retreatment is needed due to a flush of late annual weeds. Roundup Ready Corn is also covered.
• Roundup Ready Corn 2 Capped Cost Weed Control Program – If you implement the Monsanto recommended weed control program on your Roundup Ready Corn 2, Monsanto will provide up to 22 oz./A of Roundup WeatherMAX to control unexpected flushes of late annual weeds.
• Volunteer Roundup Ready Corn 2 Cost-Share Allowance – Added insurance against unexpected flush of volunteer Roundup Ready Corn 2 when you rotate from Roundup Ready Corn 2 (alone or stacked) to Roundup Ready Soybeans. Roundup Ready Corn is also covered.

These programs are based on a grower using Roundup Ready seed and Monsanto labeled herbicides exclusively. To qualify, the grower must have a valid, current Monsanto Technology Card or have signed and submitted a current Monsanto Technology/Stewardship Agreement.

Trelay markets Roundup Ready seed products and participates in Monsanto’s Roundup Rewards program.

For more detailed information on the different Roundup Rewards programs refer to the most current version of the “Roundup Rewards - Backing Traits and Herbicides” brochure.