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Missouri “Perfectly Aligned” for Agtech Merger

  • November 18, 2016

transgeniclab_7626799Bayer AG has reaffirmed its commitment to Missouri Governor Nixon that the combined agricultural business of Bayer and Monsanto will have its global Seeds & Traits and North American commercial headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri following the Bayer-Monsanto merger.

“At Bayer, our purpose is Science For A Better Life,” said Bayer AG CEO Werner Baumann. “As the population grows, farmers around the world need new, more innovative tools to meet the rising demands for more food and feed. Creating these tools requires cutting edge science and access to the best talent. As I told Gov. Nixon today, Missouri, and its center of excellence in the sciences, is perfectly aligned with our purpose, and the proposed combination with Monsanto will unite two complementary research pipelines powered by some of the brightest minds today.”

The announcement comes after Governor Nixon’s visit to Germany this week for a discussion on the proposed Bayer-Monsanto merger with Mr. Baumann and CEO of Bayer CropScience AG, Liam Condon. The parties discussed Missouri’s continued role as the global leader in agtech and the company’s commitment to the highly skilled workforce Monsanto currently employs in the state.

“I appreciated the opportunity to meet with Bayer AG CEO Baumann,” said Governor Nixon. “Throughout our discussions, I stressed that Monsanto is not only a global leader in crop science with thousands of highly skilled employees set in the heartland of global agriculture, the company and its employees are a critical pillar in St. Louis’ international leadership in the plant science economy, agriculture research and education, and outstanding contributors to cultural institutions and charitable organizations.”

In Missouri, the future of agtech is happening today. Big data, smart farming, input optimization, precision ag, biologicals, breeding, green chemistry, green pharmaceuticals, intellectual capital, an extensive agtech infrastructure, investors … it’s all growing right here.