- Monsanto (NYSE:MON) and Danish enzyme maker Novozymes (OTCPK:NVZMF) are joining forces in attempting to unlock the potential from the latest trend in farming: using nature’s own organisms to boost crop yields and reduce the use of fertilizers.
- MON's move into microbes research is helping identify which organisms can work on specific crops, where and to what extent, with the aim of helping the industry optimize output; it could alter the economics of big ag companies, if the microbes help increase yields in industrial crops, and they can be used without chemical fertilizers, explains MarketWatch's Sara Sjolin.
- "It’s about yields and how do we get the yields higher... this is another effort to drive yields to increase the productivity of food and manage the sustainability of our planet," says MON President and COO Brett Begemann.
- Profit and crop yields aside, MON has for years struggled with negative publicity for its genetically modified products, and the push into microbes could help rejuvenate its reputation.
- Now read Monsanto no longer sees 'large scale' M&A as a strategy, CEO says