Monsanto reports research progress to analysts

In a first-quarter 2007 conference call today with stock analysts, Monsanto reported the following (according to a company press release):

• Roundup RReady2Yield soybeans, the company's next-generation, herbicide-tolerant technology in soybeans, moved to Phase 4. The movement, which was based on results from its 2006 breeding trials, advanced the technology one step closer to commercial launch.
• Vistive III soybeans, designed to have a similar oil profile to olive oil, met the company's target composition profile on three of its genetic events.
• First-generation Drought Tolerant corn continued to demonstrate yield benefits in its third year of field testing.
• Second-generation Drought Tolerant corn continued to complement the first-generation trait, with strong performance in both water-stressed and broad-acre field testing.
• Higher-Yielding corn advanced to Phase 2, with three of the company's genetic events demonstrating a five percent to ten percent yield increase.
• Nitrogen Utilization corn technology events continued to demonstrate efficient use of nitrogen within testing environments, providing overall yield stability even as the amount of applied nitrogen decreased.
• High-Oil soybeans, a soybean project from Monsanto's Renessen joint venture with Cargill, advanced to Phase 3 after the technology continued to demonstrate a clear oil yield advantage compared with conventional checks.