Oligopoly brief: Monsanto
Founded in 1901, Monsanto is a world leader in both herbicides and in agricultural seeds, and makes the connection between the two through its genetically modified (GM) product line. The company is a leader in the application of biotechnology to agriculture. It has an annual gross income of $5.5 billion.
Like any companies, Monsanto's current size is the result of a number of mergers, many in the 1990s. In that decade it bought biotechnology company Agracetus, as well as the Asgrow and DeKalb seed companies. It also sold off its considerable chemicals and fibers division.
In 2000, Monsanto was merged into the drug company Pharmacia. In 2002, it was spun off again as a separate company, just before Pfizer bought out Pharmacia.
Monsanto recently announced that it would acquire Emergent Genetics, Inc., a company that develops genetically modified (GM) cotton seed. The $300 million deal will increase the company's GM presence. Monsanto is already the US leader in corn and soybean seeds. It already has a major position in cotton.
Emergent Genetics is the third-largest cotton seed supplier in the US (after Syngenta and Monsanto), with a reported 12% market share. Monsanto clearly sees that it can use its market power and biotechnology capabilities to build that share. Emergent has a major presence in India and some other cotton-growing companies.
This acquisition comes only a few weeks after the announcement of Monsanto's plan to buy Seminis, a leading vegetable and fruit seed company.
Crop seeds for corn and soybeans are sold under the brand names DEKALB and Asgrow. The company also sells internally developed genetic traits to other seed companies under the Holden's and Corn States names. Such genetic traits (for growth, resistance, and so on) are now found in 50% of the corn and cotton grown in the US.
Aside from seeds, Monsanto is big in herbicides. It sells Roundup, the wold's #1 herbicide. In fact, its genetic modifications include resistance to Roundup, so that crop plants can thrive when competitive weeds are killed off. Other, more selective herbicides go under the brand s names Lasso, Anthem, Maverick, Monza, Partner, and Sundance.
The company also is big on advocating conservation tillage, a method of crop tillage that involves less plowing, a mulch cover, and a major use of Roundup.
The company also makes a number of non-agricultural herbicides. These include Aquamaster (used in water); Campaign and Outrider (used on roadsides); and Manage, QuikPro, and Roundup Pro (used in lawns and gardens).
In the animal husbandry area, Monsanto sells POSILAC, a hormone that enhances milk production in cows. The company also develops enhancements to swine genetics.
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