The Climate Corporation Expands Global Research Footprint with Robust Innovation Pipeline

Acceleration of R&D Advancements to Bring Analytics-Based Insights
to More Farmers

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto Company (NYSE:
MON), announced 17 advancements accelerating through its R&D pipeline,
including global expansion of the company’s research footprint to
deliver science-driven, digital agriculture innovations to more farmers
around the world.

“Our innovation pipeline spans many areas of research and combines
machine learning, data analytics and predictive modeling with the
industry’s most robust seed genetic library and farm scale research, to
identify the many variables that impact crop production,” said Sam
Eathington, chief science officer for The Climate Corporation. “We are
using cutting-edge
science to invent unique digital tools that improve on-farm
productivity and create value for farmers. With recent launches of our
industry-leading Climate FieldView™ platform in Brazil, Canada and
Europe, we’re expanding our research efforts and accelerating the speed
of innovation to provide farmers data-rich information to help them
optimize inputs and maximize yield.”

In January
2017, Climate introduced its innovation pipeline, unveiling more
than 35 projects. Climate’s pipeline is the first of its kind in the
digital agriculture industry. In August
2017, the company advanced seven projects to new phases of the
pipeline. Today, Climate is sharing the acceleration of an additional 10
R&D advancements, combining unique field data with state-of-the-art
science and powerful analytics to support farmers in the crucial
management decisions they make throughout the year.

Key Technology Capabilities and R&D Advancement Highlights

Employing machine learning and predictive modeling techniques enables
Climate to quickly deliver digital solutions to farmers that are
customized to their individual operations. These capabilities are
central to the advancements moving through Climate’s innovation pipeline.

Disease Diagnosis – Today, as much as 40 percent of global crop
production is lost to disease, pest and weeds. Advanced disease insights
can help farmers protect their crops from plant diseases that can
devastate entire fields. Through Climate’s disease diagnosis research,
the company is using artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose diseases
in corn, soybeans and wheat. The machine learning model continues to
demonstrate strong performance in categorizing stresses on an individual
plant and providing the correct disease diagnosis through a mobile or
tablet device. Corn disease diagnosis (U.S.) advancing from
development to pre-commercial phase.

Seed Scripting and Selection – With access to the industry’s most
robust plant genetics library, Climate is uniquely positioned in digital
agriculture to understand how plant genetics interact with their
environment. Climate’s seeds and planting research is tailored to
specific genetics aimed to help farmers understand how to place the
right seed in the best place for maximum performance and can help
farmers sustainably enhance their productivity. The company is applying
predictive modeling and machine learning to pool data from numerous
sources, like seed genetics, disease pressure, soil composition, water
movement, historical performance and more, to help farmers select the
most ideal seed products for their fields. Advanced seed scripting
research in Brazil is advancing from concept to development phase;
Europe advancing to concept phase. Regionally-based seed selection for
soybeans (U.S.) advancing from concept to development phase.

Fertility Scripting – Through advanced modeling, Climate embraces
the complexity of soil fertility cycles, capturing key processes that
impact nitrogen levels in the field to help farmers optimize the
placement of key inputs. In August 2017, the company introduced manual
fertility scripting for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and lime as the
next step in building the industry’s first comprehensive fertility
solution in the Climate FieldView platform. The company is continuing to
invest in research efforts globally for the delivery of fertility
prescriptions for additional crops, including soybeans, wheat and
canola. P&K scripting research in Brazil, Eastern Canada and Western
Canada advancing from concept to development phase.

As Climate continues to expand its digital technologies to help more
farmers access advanced agronomic insights, it adds new data layers to
feed its R&D engine, ultimately enabling the development of valuable new
features for farmers. First launched in the United States in 2015, the
Climate FieldView platform is on more than 120 million acres with more
than 100,000 users across the United States, Canada and Brazil. In
October 2017, the company announced
the launch of the Climate FieldView platform in Western Canada. Shortly
after, the company announced
the pre-commercial launch of the Climate FieldView platform into regions
of Europe, including Germany, France and Ukraine. It has quickly become
the most broadly connected platform in the industry and continues to
expand into new global regions, with plans to expand the platform into
Australia, Argentina and South Africa over the next few years.

To learn more about the Climate FieldView platform, contact your local
Climate dealer or visit climate.com.

About The Climate Corporation

The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto Company, aims to help
all the world’s farmers sustainably increase their productivity through
the use of digital tools. The integrated Climate FieldView™ digital
agriculture platform provides farmers with a comprehensive, connected
suite of digital tools. Bringing together seamless field data
collection, advanced agronomic modeling and local weather monitoring
into simple mobile and web software solutions, the Climate FieldView
platform gives farmers a deeper understanding of their fields so they
can make more informed operating decisions to optimize yields, maximize
efficiency and reduce risk. For more information, please visit www.climate.com
and follow the company on Twitter @climatecorp.

About Monsanto Company

Monsanto is committed to bringing a broad range of solutions to help
nourish our growing world. We produce seeds for fruits, vegetables and
key crops – such as corn, soybeans, and cotton – that help farmers have
better harvests while using water and other important resources more
efficiently. We work to find sustainable solutions for soil health, help
farmers use data to improve farming practices and conserve natural
resources, and provide crop protection products to minimize damage from
pests and disease. Through programs and partnerships, we collaborate
with farmers, researchers, nonprofit organizations, universities and
others to help tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. To learn
more about Monsanto, our commitments and our more than 20,000 dedicated
employees, please visit monsanto.com.
Follow our business on Twitter® at twitter.com/MonsantoCo.

Contacts

The Climate Corporation
Chelsea Shepherd, 314-258-0438
[email protected]