ST. LOUIS (Feb. 25, 2009) – Monsanto has announced the launch of Genuity™, a family of traits designed to work together to enhance crop potential and simplify trait selection for farmers. The Genuity brand will differentiate and unify the agriculture company’s technology products under one platform and make it simpler for growers to select the traits best suited for their farms.
Ernesto Fajardo, Monsanto Vice President-U.S. Commercial, said the company’s next-generation, value-added trait technologies will be marketed as Genuity beginning in 2010. As new trait technologies in Monsanto’s research and development pipeline are introduced, having a consistent brand platform will help represent those products to the farmer in the most straightforward way possible and avoid the potential for confusion in the marketplace, he said.
“Genuity gives us the opportunity to position our traits as a family of innovative products that will enable farmers do what they do best, even better,” said Fajardo. “It provides a single, easily recognized brand to simplify the process by which farmers ask for our traits, to help them be more successful on their farms.”
The Genuity family of traits will be used with Monsanto’s newest and future traits. These include Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield™ soybeans, Genuity VT Triple PRO™ corn, Genuity Bollgard II® cotton, Genuity Bollgard II with Roundup Ready® Flex cotton, Genuity Roundup Ready Flex cotton, Roundup Ready specialty crops and, pending regulatory approval in 2010, Genuity SmartStax™ corn.
Fajardo noted that Monsanto invests more than $2.6 million a day – nearly $1 billon annually – to develop innovative, new technologies that help farmers be more productive and profitable. Technology innovation also supports the company’s commitment to help farmers double yields by the year 2030 to meet the growing global demand for food, feed, fuel and fiber, while at the same time helping farmers reduce the use of key resources per unit of output.
“Monsanto’s science is only as good as the solutions and the value our seeds provide to farmers,” he said. “That is why we felt we needed a brand like Genuity to simplify and more clearly connect our family of traits with the farmers who value them. Genuity will help farmers make the connection between the traits they know and trust and new trait technologies that will be introduced in the future.”
Dion McBay, Monsanto U.S. Traits Marketing Lead, said the name Genuity is designed to communicate Monsanto’s commitment to innovation and farmer success. The brand name, he said, is the result of conversations and feedback that started with farmers.
“The name Genuity is associated with being genuine, authentic and original, and reinforces our commitment to traits that provide enhanced productivity and higher yields for the farmers who plant them,” McBay explained.
McBay said Genuity seed bags will feature easy-to-read icons representing insect protection, herbicide tolerance, weather protection and increased productivity to illustrate clearly the benefits the traits offer. The Genuity icon system, he said, will help farmers match traits with the specific needs of their farm.
Fajardo said he is excited about the new Genuity brand and the future of agriculture. “Our trait technologies make me think about the tools farmers will have available to them, now and in the future, that will enable them to double yields by 2030,” he said. “Because we’re focused on connecting with farmers and building relationships with farmers, it’s important to make our trait products very clear to them. That’s the goal of Genuity.”
For more information about Monsanto’s new Genuity brand, farmers are invited to visit their website.