Monsanto Reacts to Listening Tour Concerns
March 3, 2009 Politicians often conduct listening tours to identify constituents’ opinions and concerns.
When Monsanto decided to conduct a series of auditory tours of its own, who better to spearhead the effort than a politician? So Monsanto turned to former Congressman Larry Combest, a fourth-generation West Texas farmer who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2003.
“We asked the Honorable Larry Combest to host a series of listening session across the Cotton Belt to help us better understand the concerns of U.S. cotton producers,” said Kevin Eblen, Monsanto cotton business lead. “For more than 20 years, Combest has served cotton producers as an elected official and his leadership in the development of the 2002 Farm Bill demonstrated his dedication to agriculture across the Cotton Belt. That’s why we asked him to work with cotton producers to help us assess how we can grow our commitment to U.S. cotton.”
The details of Monsanto’s commitment were announced at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in New Orleans.
“Many growers felt that Monsanto should do more to share the risk throughout the season, rather than just on the front end,” said Combest. Monsanto worked with many of the Cotton Belt seed companies to refund technology fees should conditions prevent a grower from establishing a stand. Additionally, Combest said, “growers felt they should not have to pay for traits if, in fact, they do not perform as expected.
“U.S. cotton growers are concerned about managing risks, how technology pricing works, fair access to new technologies and the long-term sustainability of U.S. cotton production.”
Monsanto also announced a grant of $1 million to the Cotton Foundation, through the National Cotton Council, to support sustainability projects.
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