Asgrow
| Industry | Seed company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1927 |
| Fate | Brand of Bayer AG |
| Headquarters | Creve Coeur, MO, United States of America |
| Products | soybean |
| Website | https://www.dekalbasgrowdeltapine.com/en-us/asgrow.html |
Asgrow is a seed company owned and operated by Bayer Crop Science.
History[edit]
The Associated Seed Growers, Inc. ("Asgrow") was formed in 1927 when seed competitors Everett B. Clark Seed Co., John H. Allen Seed Co., and N.B. Keeney & Son joined together.[1] The company's headquarters were located in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1958, the company formally changed their name to Asgrow Seed Company. The Upjohn Company acquired Asgrow in 1968 in a stock swap.[2] In 1994, Mexico-based company, Empresas La Moderna SA purchased Asgrow for $300 million. At the time, Asgrow was the fifth-largest seed company with $270 million in sales.[2][3] Monsanto purchased Asgrow from Empresas in 1996 for $240 million dollars.[4] In 1997, the company moved its headquarters to the Des Moines area from Kalamazoo, Michigan.[5]
In 1996, Asgrow released the first Roundup Ready Soybean to the market building upon Monsanto's work to create petunia plants tolerant to small amounts of Roundup developed by Robert Fraley in 1985. The first season of sales saw over 1 million acres using the new seed and quickly over 80% of US soybeans were produced with the seed.[6]
In 2012, Asgrow started its National Yield Contest for soybean producers. The contest winner produces the most soybeans and farmers nationwide have opportunity to learn more about the latest seed technologies and production practices.[7]
In 2018, Bayer AG acquired Monsanto, and Asgrow became a brand of Bayer Crop Science.[8]
Products[edit]
Asgrow seeds feature many Monsanto technologies including RoundUp-Ready 2 Yield. Asgrow sold sunflower, corn, alfalfa, spring canola, and winter canola. Now the brand solely consists of soybean varieties with various yield protection technologies from Monsanto and third parties (such as BASF) in conjunction with Dekalb.[9][10] Monsanto, had been accused of causing Asgrow to breach two soybean research and development agreements with DuPont and the termination of another collaborative R&D agreement with AgrEvo to hinder the development of competing herbicide tolerant seed trait.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ Eisenstadt, Peter (2005). The Encyclopedia of New York State. New York: Syracuse University Press. p. 833. ISBN 0-8156-0808-X.
- ^ a b Aoyagi, William Shurtleff; Akiko (2019-07-01). History of the Soyfoods Movement Worldwide (1960s-2019): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook. Soyinfo Center. ISBN 9781948436090.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Ringer, Richard (1994-11-08). "COMPANY NEWS; Upjohn Set To Sell Unit To Empresas". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
- ^ "Monsanto to Buy Asgrow Agronomics Unit". The New York Times. Reuters. 1996-09-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
- ^ MYCHAL. "col Asgrow Seed Co. headquarters will relocate to Iowa". PostBulletin.com. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
- ^ Truitt, Gary (2016-01-24). "Twenty Years of Roundup Ready, What Has It Meant?". Hoosier Ag Today. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
- ^ "Casstown farmer wins national award - Troy Daily News". www.tdn-net.com. 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
- ^ "Bayer Closes Monsanto Deal to Cap $63 Billion Transformation". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
- ^ "Asgrow Brand Webpage".
- ^ "Monsanto Seed Brands".
- ^ Peekhaus, Wilhelm (2013). Resistance Is Fertile: Canadian Struggles on the BioCommons. Vancouver: UBC Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-7748-2312-8.
