Hybrids with HERCULEX® XTRA Insect Protection Eligible for Reduced Insurance Premiums

Indianapolis, IN - August 20, 2008

Growers who plant hybrids with HERCULEX® XTRA Insect Protection – including those stacked with Roundup Ready® Corn 2 technology – may be eligible for reduced crop insurance premiums in select states in 2009.1 The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors granted the approval as part of a new crop insurance program called Risk Management Biotechnology Endorsement (BE) that was announced earlier this week.

“This is big news for corn growers who have come to trust the in-plant protection provided by hybrids with HERCULEX XTRA Insect Protection,” says Ben Kaehler, Traits & Germplasm Licensing business leader for Dow AgroSciences. “HERCULEX XTRA provides a full-spectrum of season-long protection, helping growers protect their corn from significant yield losses related to pressure from common corn pests. The BE program has recognized what growers already know: HERCULEX XTRA protects their investment and helps maximize their yield potential.”

The BE program for the 2009 crop year will includes non-irrigated grain corn hybrids with HERCULEX® XTRA and HERCULEX XTRA stacked with Roundup Ready Corn 2 in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

HERCULEX XTRA Insect Protection is a stacked above- and below-ground trait that provides the broadest-spectrum in-plant insect protection available in the market today, including corn rootworm protection. It is available in a wide variety of high-yielding hybrids. HERCULEX XTRA provides in-plant protection against corn rootworm (western, northern and Mexican), European corn borer, western bean cutworm, black cutworm, southwestern corn borer, fall armyworm, southern corn stalk borer, lesser cornstalk borer, sugarcane borer, and suppression of corn earworm.

Dow AgroSciences LLC, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, is a top-tier agricultural company that combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. Dow AgroSciences provides innovative technologies for crop protection, pest and vegetation management, seeds, traits, and agricultural biotechnology to serve the world’s growing population. Global sales for Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, are $3.8 billion. Learn more at www.dowagro.com

 

1Certain eligibility requirements apply, including having to plant at least 75 percent of the grower’s corn using a BE-qualifying technology.

®HERCULEX is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC
®Roundup Ready is a registered trademark of Monsanto Company.

HERCULEX Insect Protection technology by Dow AgroSciences and Pioneer Hi-Bred.



For further information, contact:

Claire Keyes
Bader Rutter & Associates
262-470-0918
ckeyes@bader-rutter.com

Brendon Lueck
Dow AgroSciences LLC
(317) 337-7836