The Monsanto Company is a leading multinational provider of agricultural products and solutions. Monsanto produces leading seed brands, including DEKALB(r) and Asgrow(r), and is at the forefront of biotechnology to integrate insect and weed control into the seed itself. One of its many products is Roundup(r) herbicide, the world's best-selling herbicide.
Monsanto is also a longtime partner with Iowa State University in the improvement of agriculture and the preparation of students for successful careers in agriculture. Monsanto has supported Iowa State with grants totaling more than $2 million to support research in all areas of agriculture and economics; with gifts totaling more than $2.4 million to 28 different academic departments, athletics and Extension; and with state-of-the-art equipment, such as three mass spectrometers valued at more than $1 million given to the Plant Sciences Institute. In addition, Monsanto supports graduate fellowships for minority students in genetics, hires many Iowa State graduates and is an active partner in some of the university's most important initiatives, including the Seed Science Center and the Plant Sciences Institute.
One research area that illustrates Monsanto's global citizenship and the strong partnership between Monsanto and Iowa State is the study of the nutritional and health impact of vitamin A deficiency on people in developing nations and efforts to develop ways to address the deficiency. An estimated 127 million children worldwide are vitamin A-deficient, which causes anemia, blindness and growth retardation, and significantly increases the risk of death. Monsanto has been one of the driving forces in an international consortium of public and private organizations, known as the High Beta-Carotene Maize Initiative, working to combat this problem in sub-Saharan Africa. One partner in this initiative is Iowa State University, and Monsanto generously supports Iowa State's efforts to develop enhanced beta-carotene maize varieties for the sub-Saharan region.
Accepting the award for the Monsanto Company is Theodore M. Crosbie ('73 agricultural education, MS '76 and PhD '78 plant breeding and cytogenetics), Monsanto's vice president for global plant breeding. Monsanto Company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.
Roundup, Asgrow and Monsanto Imagine and the Vine Device are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Dekalb is a registered trademark of Dekalb Genetics Corporation.
Published March 2006