Monsanto drops plans for biotech wheat

Monsanto Co. said this week it has halted development of genetically engineered wheat.

The biotech wheat would have been -- like its corn, cotton and oilseeds -- able to withstand Roundup herbicide.

"As a result of our portfolio review and dialogue with wheat industry leaders, we recognize the business opportunities with Roundup Ready spring wheat are less attractive relative to Monsanto's other commercial priorities," said Carl Casale, Monsanto's executive vice president.

Genetically engineered crops remain a difficult sell in parts of the world, with opponents questioning the safety of the crops. In Southeast Missouri, farmers are currently using genetically engineered corn and soybeans, and likely would have welcomed the new wheat product, said Gerald Bryan, an agronomy specialist with the University Extension office in Jackson.

"I think most farmers would like to see it happen, but when a lot of people think about genetic engineering they throw their hands up and say, 'We're going to get killed,'" Bryan said. "They don't realize it's used for medical research and all kinds of important things. There's a lot of misinformation out there about it."

Chaffee, Mo., farmer David Herbst said he feels Monsanto's decision to pull away was a good one.

"We still have a long way to go in resolving issues of genetically engineered wheat," Herbst said. "We, as farmers, feel it's 100 percent safe for human and animal consumption, but some foreign countries are extremely leery."

Charles Hinkebein, a Delta, Mo., wheat farmer agreed that genetically engineered wheat would have benefited farmers. He currently grows genetically engineered corn and soybeans and says both have been successful crops.

"We can spray them with one chemical and there's no carryover to the next crop," Hinkebein said.

St. Louis-based Monsanto had been developing a Roundup Ready variety of hard red spring wheat since 1997. Tests by company scientists as well as academic researchers showed the wheat offered the potential to increase yields between 5 and 15 percent.

Japan, America's top wheat importer, has said it will accept no wheat -- conventional or biotech -- from any nation that grows biotech wheat.

Staff writer Callie Clark contributed to this report.