By Michael Pento | June 09, 2008 | 12:29 PM | 9 Comments
As someone who is not afraid to point out what is wrong with the economy today, it is refreshing for me to be able to write about what is working well in corporate America. If the United States is going to solve its current account imbalances and boost its G.D.P. to rival the world's growth rate, domestic corporations may need to take a lesson by turning their ears (pun intended) towards a company like Monsanto (NYSE: MON).
What we do best in this country is technological innovation, and there are few enterprises that exemplify that better than the world's largest company focused on seeds and traits. I spent a few days last week in the Midwest and had the opportunity to visit Monsanto's headquarters in St. Louis Missouri. While getting a tour of their impressive laboratory and greenhouses, I was given a course in the company's technology and offered a look at their product pipeline.
The simple science behind genetically modified (GM) corn is to take a slice of DNA from a bacterium (Bacillus thuringiensis) and inject that protein into corn DNA to produce a new plant that provides protection against insect attack or which produces other desired traits, like drought tolerance. The company already has a series of hybrid and biotech products on the market for corn, cotton and soybeans which have helped send net sales up17% and net income up 44% during the past year. But the future looks even brighter.
The pipeline for GM corn includes drought-tolerant, nitrogen utilization and broad-acre higher yielding products. These products are in phases 1-3 of development and could be on the market in the next few years. According to the company's projections, by 2020 the commercial value of nitrogen and drought-tolerant corn could be $300-$500 billion each, while broad-acre corn could exceed $1 billion alone. Additionally, Roundup Ready soybeans which protect against insect attack could be ready for commercial launch in two years and could be worth about $400 billion.
Some have balked at the use of GM agricultural products, calling them as "Franken Foods," of course. But one of the big points these critics are missing entirely is the positive environmental impact of using GM products. Using hybrid and GM seeds allows farmers to increase yields with fewer tractor passes and pesticide applications. In addition, the drought-tolerant and nitrogen-absorbent strains allow growers to use less water and fertilizer, which helps improve water quality. Just since 1996, farmers have cut their pesticide applications by almost half a billion pounds.
Growing revenue and earnings by helping farmers increase agriculture productivity while promoting a healthier environment sounds like a winning combination to me. And that is not only great for America, but great for investors too. Monsanto's future is very, very bright.
*Disclaimer: Monsanto is a portfolio holding in the Delta Global Agriculture UIT, on which the author's firm serves as an advisor.
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