Monsanto (NYSE:MON) Wins Again, Modified Beets Given Okay to Plant

Monsanto (NYSE:MON) is enjoying another victory in its bid to expand it crop lineup, as U.S. agricultural regulators gave farmers the okay to plant genetically modified sugar beets this year, after a ban by a court.

Last week Monsanto got approval to have its alfalfa seed planted in the U.S.

Michael Gregoire, deputy administrator for APHIS' biotechnology regulatory services said, "After conducting an environmental assessment, accepting and reviewing public comments and conducting a plant pest risk assessment, APHIS has determined that the Roundup Ready sugar beet root crop, when grown under APHIS imposed conditions, can be partially deregulated without posing a plant pest risk or having a significant effect on the environment."

This was almost a surety, as the timing of the decision by the judge made it almost impossible to enforce, as farmers were close to making decisions on sugar beet seed, and it would have devastated the production in the U.S. by an estimated 21 percent this year.

Monsanto's sugar beet seed accounts for close to 95 percent of the U.S. sugar beet crop, and sugar beets account for over 50 percent of the sugar supply in the U.S.

The unfavorable ruling was from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, who not only banned the sugar beet seeds, but had ordered sugar beet seedlings in the ground to be uprooted.

Those opposing the seeds vow to take the USDA back to court in order to have the judge's order reinstated.

Monsanto closed Friday at $74.66, dropping $0.17, or 0.23 percent.