Comments on: Pipeline Progress: Eleven Steps Closer http://www.monsantoblog.com/2010/01/07/monsanto-rd-pipeline/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=monsanto-rd-pipeline Beyond the Rows is a Monsanto Company blog focused on agriculture. Monsanto employees write about Monsanto’s business, agriculture, biotechnology, and the farmer. Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:54:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Ben http://www.monsantoblog.com/2010/01/07/monsanto-rd-pipeline/comment-page-1/#comment-2434 Ben Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:42:57 +0000 http://blog.monsantoblog.com/?p=1711#comment-2434 Thanks for the feedback, Jim. I am going to pass along your comments. Thanks for the feedback, Jim. I am going to pass along your comments.

]]> By: Jim http://www.monsantoblog.com/2010/01/07/monsanto-rd-pipeline/comment-page-1/#comment-2433 Jim Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:43:24 +0000 http://blog.monsantoblog.com/?p=1711#comment-2433 I truly hope Monsanto did learn from the initial Vistive experience. I had some very uncomfortable conversations with customers over a two-three year time frame. We pushed hard to get Vistive acres planted, and lost a lot of credibility when yields were 10 bushels less than commodity beans. I sat in meetings where Monsanto reps told us directly that 3521V (for example) would yield as good as or better than commodity beans. It was a lesson in company spin that I have not forgotten. I'm now working in northern Illinois, and there are no Vistive processors near me, so I did not have any Vistive acres in 2009 to manage. I don't expect this situation to change in the future. I truly hope Monsanto did learn from the initial Vistive experience. I had some very uncomfortable conversations with customers over a two-three year time frame. We pushed hard to get Vistive acres planted, and lost a lot of credibility when yields were 10 bushels less than commodity beans. I sat in meetings where Monsanto reps told us directly that 3521V (for example) would yield as good as or better than commodity beans. It was a lesson in company spin that I have not forgotten.

I’m now working in northern Illinois, and there are no Vistive processors near me, so I did not have any Vistive acres in 2009 to manage. I don’t expect this situation to change in the future.

]]> By: Ben http://www.monsantoblog.com/2010/01/07/monsanto-rd-pipeline/comment-page-1/#comment-2432 Ben Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:28:02 +0000 http://blog.monsantoblog.com/?p=1711#comment-2432 Jim, I'm sorry to hear that the original Vistive product did not yield as you expected. We do know that initially there were some differences between Vistive and commodity bean performance depending on location and variety. In the years since launch, that gap has narrowed dramatically. So much so, that today, soybeans with the Vistive characteristic are on par with comparable commodity varieties. We've learned from that experience and continue to focus on yield enhancements through breeding and biotech advancements. Are you still growing Vistive soybeans today? If so, how are they performing? Going forward, we understand that we need to make sure that quality traits like Vistive Gold are competitive with other soybean varieties in respective maturity zones. 2009 was the fifth season of yield trial testing for Vistive Gold, so we will know more as we continue to analyze yield trial plots over the next few years. Vistive Gold will be made available in combination with the Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield trait to ensure that yield is competitive with commercial commodity soybean varieties. Along those lines, this product may be stacked with other future traits like intrinsic yield to further bolster yield potential. We understand that the “proof is in the pudding.” I hope you and your company will give us another shot if we can prove that performance of Vistive Gold will measure up. Ben Kampelman Monsanto Company Jim, I’m sorry to hear that the original Vistive product did not yield as you expected. We do know that initially there were some differences between Vistive and commodity bean performance depending on location and variety. In the years since launch, that gap has narrowed dramatically. So much so, that today, soybeans with the Vistive characteristic are on par with comparable commodity varieties. We’ve learned from that experience and continue to focus on yield enhancements through breeding and biotech advancements. Are you still growing Vistive soybeans today? If so, how are they performing?

Going forward, we understand that we need to make sure that quality traits like Vistive Gold are competitive with other soybean varieties in respective maturity zones. 2009 was the fifth season of yield trial testing for Vistive Gold, so we will know more as we continue to analyze yield trial plots over the next few years. Vistive Gold will be made available in combination with the Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield trait to ensure that yield is competitive with commercial commodity soybean varieties. Along those lines, this product may be stacked with other future traits like intrinsic yield to further bolster yield potential.

We understand that the “proof is in the pudding.” I hope you and your company will give us another shot if we can prove that performance of Vistive Gold will measure up.

Ben Kampelman
Monsanto Company

]]> By: Jim http://www.monsantoblog.com/2010/01/07/monsanto-rd-pipeline/comment-page-1/#comment-2431 Jim Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:40:41 +0000 http://blog.monsantoblog.com/?p=1711#comment-2431 When I worked in Iowa, my company participated heavily in the launch of Vistive soybeans, planting a lot of seed shipped up from South America that spring. Ultimately, we were very dissapointed with the yield, we were promised high yielding soybeans with the premium being an added bonus. What we got were lower-yielding soybeans where the premium struggled to make up the difference versus planting regular varieties. How do you plan to market the Vistive Gold beans to farmers who were already burned by poorly performing Vistive beans? When I worked in Iowa, my company participated heavily in the launch of Vistive soybeans, planting a lot of seed shipped up from South America that spring. Ultimately, we were very dissapointed with the yield, we were promised high yielding soybeans with the premium being an added bonus. What we got were lower-yielding soybeans where the premium struggled to make up the difference versus planting regular varieties. How do you plan to market the Vistive Gold beans to farmers who were already burned by poorly performing Vistive beans?

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