A field of Roundup Ready Flex Cotton from Monsanto. Drought-tolerant cotton is also expected to be announced by the company, designed to offer yield stability in water-stressed environments Photo: Monsanto

Monsanto is poised to announce several new products featured in its R&D pipeline, including products focused on abiotic and quality traits.

The new announcements are being discussed as part of a series of presentations on Monsanto’s developments in New York and Boston, and are set to be available to farmers by 2012.

One product set to benefit farmers is Omega-3 enriched soybeans. The soybeans are designed to offer higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, which have been linked to maintaining a healthy heart. The soybeans will also offer a land-based source of Omega-3, with tests currently demonstrating a solid yield performance compared to control crops.

Drought-tolerant cotton is also expected to be announced by the company, designed to offer yield stability in water-stressed environments. The test cotton has currently shown strong performance across multiple gene leads, leaving Monsanto optimistic that a number of product leads could be used to create a variety of drought traits in cotton.

Steve Padgette, vice-president of biotechnology for Monsanto, commented on the benefits of the new products. “It's rewarding to see such innovation in the pipeline right now. Our data demonstrates these cutting-edge innovations can deliver new value to farmers well into the next decade," he says.

A live webcast of the R&D presentations will be available at Monsanto’s website, www.monsanto.com/investors. A replay of the webcast will remain available on the website for two weeks.

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