1.Delta & Pine's Soybeans Transfer to Monsanto
2.Farmer Calls Monsanto's Investigations Harassment
3.Monsanto's Bullies Aim Big, Target Co-op   
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1.Delta & Pine's Soybeans Transfer to Monsanto       
Kristina Hubbard    
OCM, 23 July 2008
http://www.competitivemarkets.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=216&Itemid=20

"Another well-known Mid-South brand will soon disappear into the new world of corporate mergers. Delta and Pine Land’s Deltapine soybean varieties are being transitioned to Monsanto’s Asgrow soybean brand," writes the Delta Farm Press today.

That's funny. Farmers use the same word when they talk about their seed options these days. My choices seem to have "disappeared," they say.

This announcement today is no surprise, of course, since we know Monsanto's acquisition of Delta & Pine Land last year means Delta & Pine's extensive breeding program and germplasm library are now owned by Monsanto. But what's bound to happen is that Monsanto will maintain a monopoly position by eliminating Delta & Pine from entering into partnerships with other seed companies to develop new traits and share genetic resources. Any research efforts between companies it doesn't own is foreclosed. Meaning, important traits useful to research and farmers may never be developed. Of course not. That's more competition, says Monsanto. That's also one more strike against farmers.

Article referred to: http://deltafarmpress.com/soybeans/dpl-soybeans-0723/
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2.Farmer Calls Monsanto's Investigations Harassment     
Kristina Hubbard    
OCM, 17 July 2008
http://www.competitivemarkets.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=202&Itemid=20

Monsanto needs to do its homework. Just ask David Brumback, a fourth generation farmer tied up in Monsanto's investigation of the Pilot Grove Cooperative, who says investigators showed up on his farm in a Ford Expedition looking for his father last December. Only, his father died more than 10 years ago. "My dad wasn't even here to see me harvest our first crop of Roundup Ready beans that was in 1997," Brumback explains.

But getting the facts straight doesn't appear to be Monsanto's priority. Troy Roush, an Indiana farmer who spoke at OCM's "Taking It Back" event last Saturday in Missouri, spent $400,000 defending his family from frivolous litigation.

Monsanto's proof? The company was pursuing its case based on erroneous research of Roush's fields. Fields it claimed were sown to its patented soybeans were in fact planted to popcorn.

Brumback calls himself a loyal Monsanto customer and is offended by Monsanto's approach to this investigation. He says he’s never planted saved seed, yet he'll no doubt spend a great deal of time and money defending this position.

Apparently, Monsanto's private investigators have tried to serve papers to 10 other people in Pilot Grove who are deceased. I'm sure the company thinks it can pass the red-face test on this one, too.

Article referred to: http://www.boonvilledailynews.com/news/x544087796
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3.Monsanto's Bullies Aim Big, Target Co-op   
Kristina Hubbard    
OCM, 14 July 2008
http://www.competitivemarkets.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=198&Itemid=20

It's not enough for Monsanto to target just one farmer as it pursues alleged patent infringement. No, the company is trying to bring down an entire cooperative in a small Missouri town: population 750. The story of Pilot Grove is making headlines, first in the Vanity Fair piece OCM shared with you two months ago and now in a new article by AP reporter Alan Scher Zagier.

Monsanto is currently seeking (through a subpoena) records going back five years as well as depositions from more than 100 Pilot Grove customers. "With Monsanto, you're guilty until you're proven innocent," said one farmer. One of Monsanto's tactics is to make these cases so expensive that farmers have little recourse but to settle. About 20 of these customers have already decided to settle in order to avoid a costly fight. The details of these settlements are unknown due to gag orders, yet we know that to date out of court settlements with Monsanto may exceed $100,000,000.

Post-sale restraints on saving seed ensures zero competition from seed saved by farmers each year. With seed prices reaching new heights, farmers are forced to buy new and expensive seed each season. And farmers have little choice in seed options since Monsanto controls 90% of the global transgenic seed market. Meaning, more and more farmers are left vulnerable to the bullying tactics of the one who holds monopoly power -- guilty or not.

Articles referred to: http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805
http://www.kansascity.com/382/story/699820.html
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/Monsantovsusfarmersreport.cfm
http://www.competitivemarkets.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=195&Itemid=20