Monsanto's Yields

Monsanto (NYSE: MON) won't be selling its Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean seeds in Europe, but at least the U.S. farmers it sells them to will be able to hock their final product there. The European Union recently approved the genetically modified soybeans for import.

The E.U. buys about 10 percent of U.S. soybean exports, so the approval should boost the launch of the Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans, which are now approved for import in 10 countries or regions. Monsanto expects to make a small launch next year, with a much larger push the year after.

Although 2010 may seem like a long way off, a long-term view is needed. Seed and fertilizer producers have been punished hard this year. But it's not as if people will stop eating just because there's a global recession. And the recession will end — eventually.

Investors who buy agricultural companies at current levels could see further dips — the bottom is hard to predict, after all — but overall prospects for the agriculture industry are pretty strong. Monsanto is looking to double yields by 2030. With each small increase in yield comes the ability to increase prices. And of course, the Roundup Ready products end up boosting sales twice over — once for the seed and another for sales of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.

Monsanto will grow again, eventually.