Monsanto Co

WASHINGTON - Monsanto Co. and other companies that patent seeds may prohibit farmers from growing a second crop from their genetically modified seeds, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously. The closely watched decision was a clear victory for agribusiness giants and their biotechnological innovations, which have increased crop yields. But it was a setback for the many disgruntled farmers who have complained about the high cost of these miracle seeds. By a 9-0 vote, the justices decided the patent for a specialized seed outlives the first planting.

WASHINGTON - Monsanto Co. and other companies that patent seeds may prohibit farmers from growing a second crop from their genetically modified seeds, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously. The closely watched decision was a clear victory for agribusiness giants and their biotechnological innovations, which have increased crop yields. But it was a setback for the many disgruntled farmers who have complained about the high cost of these miracle seeds. By a 9-0 vote, the justices decided the patent for a specialized seed outlives the first planting.

Is there value to be found anywhere in today's perilous stock market? Well, everything's risky, but a lot of the smart money is investing in Monsanto Co., the St. Louis-based chemical company that owns the sugar substitute NutraSweet. The Bessemer Trust, for example, owns almost 1 million shares, says Stanley Nabi, the trust's executive vice president for investment. Bessemer invests old family money, chiefly that of the Phipps family, which made its fortune founding the American steel industry.

William S. Knowles, a retired Monsanto Co. organic chemist who shared a Nobel Prize in 2001 for helping to solve a vexing problem in the manufacture of medicines, died Wednesday of complications of ALS at his home in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Mo. He was 95. Knowles shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in chemistry with two other scientists, K. Barry Sharpless of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla and Ryoji Noyori of Nagoya University...

St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. took control of agricultural biotechnology company Calgene Inc. of Davis, Calif., after receiving approval for the move from Calgene's shareholders.

* Monsanto Co., whose genetically modified seeds have raised environmental and health concerns among some European consumers, said it would not commercialize the controversial "terminator" gene technology that sterilizes seeds. In a letter to the Rockefeller Foundation, Monsanto Chairman Robert Shapiro said the company decided not to develop the gene after seeking comment from the foundation and other groups.

London-based Unilever said it has agreed to sell its Plant Breeding International unit to Monsanto Co. for $524 million in cash, the latest deal by St. Louis-based Monsanto to expand in the seed business. PBI produces and sells crop varieties worldwide and has significant breeding programs. Monsanto's stock rose $1.81 to close at $55.56 on the NYSE.

Ten years after Congress declared war on toxic waste, the Environmental Protection Agency is allowing the same companies that created the most dangerous problems to determine the scope of contamination and propose how to clean it up.

NutraSweet Changes Name: The consumer products unit of Monsanto Co. changed its name to Benevia, which will continue to market aspartame artificial sweetener under the names Equal in North America and Canderel in Europe, the Deerfield, Ill.-based company said. The new name is derived from the Latin roots for "good" and "way." Benevia said it plans to expand into foods with reduced fat, sugar and calories.

Federal regulators have turned down a request from Monsanto Co. to take action against dairy companies that advertise milk as free of synthetic hormones. The Federal Trade Commission said last week that the ads it reviewed did not make any misleading claims about the safety of recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST, a hormone that boosts milk production in cows.

Monsanto Co., the world's largest seed company, said a booming market for corn-based ethanol had fueled its corn seed sales and boosted profit 23% in its fiscal second quarter. Net income in the quarter ended Feb. 28 grew to $543 million, or 98 cents a share, from $440 million, or 80 cents, in the year-earlier period. Sales climbed 19% to $2.62 billion from $2.2 billion a year earlier on stronger sales of seeds in the U.S. and herbicide sales in Brazil, Europe, Africa and Argentina.

Chemical maker DuPont Co. is cutting 1,500 jobs as it restructures its agriculture and nutrition division, putting the $100 million it expects to save into its seed business, where it is in an increasingly tough battle with rival Monsanto Co. Monsanto has improved its dealer network, taking market share from DuPont's Pioneer Hi-Bred seed division in the important corn seed market. It is expected to continue to do so.

Monsanto Co.'s loss widened in its fiscal fourth quarter as higher sales of herbicides failed to offset lower sales of seeds and related products. The company also forecast profit for 2007 that was below what Wall Street had expected. Its shares fell 5.3%. The St. Louis-based herbicide and biotech seed producer said its loss totaled $144 million, or 27 cents a share, in the three months ended Aug. 31 compared with a loss of $125 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 9% to $1.

Monsanto Co. on Tuesday said it agreed to buy Delta & Pine Land Co., the top U.S. seller of cottonseed, for $1.5 billion, putting aside a legal battle tied to the first attempt at a merger six years ago. Monsanto has targeted the cotton industry as a leading growth area for its genetic modification plant technology, which has largely been focused on soybeans and corn. The acquisition of Delta & Pine would give Monsanto a dominant position with well over 50% market share.

Monsanto Co. agreed to pay the University of California more than $100 million to settle the school's claim that the biotechnology company infringed on a patent related to a hormone that makes cows produce more milk. The university's Board of Regents and Monsanto announced the settlement Monday as the bovine growth hormone case was scheduled to go to trial. The suit was filed in 2004. Under the accord, St.

General Motors Corp., Monsanto Co., and British Petroleum said they will take voluntary steps to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the leading so-called "greenhouse" gas that many scientists say may lead to a serious warming of the Earth. A GM spokesman noted that the auto maker remains opposed to the climate treaty reached in negotiations last December in Kyoto, Japan, which calls for the United States to reduce greenhouse emissions to below 1990 levels by 2008 to 2012.

Monsanto Co. said it's considering a sale, restructuring or other alternative for its Orcolite and Diamonex optical and ophthalmic lenses divisions. The Orcolite division, based in Azusa, makes eyeglass lenses and other eye products, while Allentown, Pa.-based Diamonex makes scratch-resistant coatings for sunglasses and glasses, as well as grocery store checkout scanners. Both divisions employ about 700 people. Monsanto shares rose 81 cents to close at $39.94 on the NYSE.

When it comes to buying soybean seed, Tracy Quinlin has connections. Her brother is a local dealer for Monsanto Co., the biggest seed company in the world. But family ties weren't enough to win Quinlin's business this winter when she shopped for seeds to plant on her 200-acre farm. She was won over by Tim Flowerree, a salesman for Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., one of Monsanto's biggest competitors. "Tim made us a better deal for beans," Quinlin said.

Callaway Golf Co. said preliminary earnings for its first-quarter were below analysts' expectations because of an 18% drop in sales. The company said it earned 26 cents to 28 cents a share, based on sales of $300 million. The figures compare with profit of 59 cents and sales of $364 million a year earlier. From Bloomberg News * Monsanto Co. said fiscal second-quarter profit more than doubled on sales of corn and soybean seeds and Roundup weed killer. Net income rose to $373 million, or $1.