“See the next decade of biotechnology products.” That’s what Monsanto says its Technology Showcase Tour: The Road Map to Success will demonstrate to farmers in Progress City, IL. The gene optimization, desired trait characteristics and advanced product development that Monsanto promotes with its products is all on display in a live side-by-side comparison of crops with Monsanto products and crops without. The Tour demonstrates how Monsanto works with gene traits to not only protect crops from bugs and weeds, but to “propel yields into the next decade.” Monsanto says its products help match demand with innovative technology, making it possible to meet global feed markets, global food markets and global biofuel markets.
The Tour spelled out how the hybrid system works using female and male parents, which are crossed to produce seed with hybird characteristics. Monsanto displayed these new elite commercial hybrids that it says look bigger and have more yield potential. Researchers are mining corn hybrids not just from the U.S., but from Argentina and Brazil. Representatives say that enables researchers to bring new combinations of genes that benefit growers. They offer new breeding tools that lets scientists pick the valuable gene out of a Brazilian corn line that might be super heat tolerant or a gene from an Argentinian corn line that might have great disease resistance and bring those genes together in a special combination that helps farmers. Monsanto says their tool for breeding is fundamentally changing the yield production for corn production.
Monsanto demonstrated the same ideals in its soybean products. The company says it has found a way to use the RoundUp Ready gene in a place in the soybean chromosome that’s “super hot for yield.” Data shows about a 7 to 11% increase in soybean breeding terms. Monsanto say that’s close to the gain that would be expected from 10 years of breeding. Researchers say there is a huge yield potential embroiled in this product that will provide growers with that “step-change they need to meet that great need for soybean products and the pressure for competition with corn for ethanol.
The pipeline also demonstrates work transforming soybean crops capable of producing oil that is Monsanto claims is virtually identical to olive oil. Oil that is lower in saturated fat and free of harmful trans fats. Monsanto has a million and a half acres dedicated to this demonstration of the first large-scale, identity-preserved value-added gene traits in soybeans.
I spoke briefly with Soybean Trait Manager Gary Elmore about the myriad of technology Monsanto is demonstrating. You can listen to Gary briefly run through what’s going on at the Monsanto Road Map to Success Tour here:
gary_elmore.mp3
Or you can download here: 
Monsanto Soybean Trait Manager Gary Elmore (1:10 min MP3)
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The Pioneer tent is a really popular place here at the Farm Progress Show. For one thing they’re popping corn at the entrance but more importantly they’ve got air conditioning. I took a break from the sun in their tent and spoke with Jerry Harrington and GW Fuhr.
I think everybody knows Leon Corzine, central Illinois farmer and former chairman of the National Corn Growers Association. He’s a big champion of biotechnology and renewable fuels. Well all that work he’s done for so many years and on so many levels was recognized yesterday by Lincoln Heritage Committee as they bestowed the Abraham Lincoln National Agriculture Award on him here at the Farm Progress Show. Leon is one of the inaugural award recipients.
I make sure I get here to the Farm Progress Show early so I don’t have to deal with traffic. However, it sure looks like an orderly process in this shot.
The sun is actually high in the sky already here and the Farm Progress Show, day 2, is open.
Dow AgroSciences says it’s planning for the future of biotechnology. But, the company is quick to point out a host of innovative technologies available now for improving crop yields. Dow AgroSciences says its Herculex family of traits offers the broadest protection when comes to safeguarding crops against most insects, both above ground and below ground, in corn. Representatives add that its 2,4-D trait offers a robust performance and excellent tolerance. Traits & Germplasm Licensing Leader Ben Kaehler says the plan is to bring out what the company feels will provide the best insect protection, 
by having Herculex Extra, with the best opportunity to control weeds with a herbicide tolerant trait to give growers the best opportunity to have maximum yields, clean fields and make a lot of money using Dow AgroSciences products and traits.
Technology for Traits is built upon a system meant to maintain glycocen as a management tool for a long time because farmers value it for its simplicity, economic costs and effectiveness. Dow AgroSciences says it wants to help farmers maximize their yield.
I doubt I can keep the sunrise/sunset pictures coming but I’ll try. 
I am impressed with the welcome we received here this evening at the exhibitor’s dinner. Here’s the greeting line.