Milling & Baking News - January 21, 2014 - 10

Business 

Monsanto making progress with
bioengineered wheat
ST. LOUIS - Monsanto Co. said it has
moved from the "proof of concept"
phase into the "early development"
phase for its herbicide-tolerant wheat,
a move the St. Louis-based company
said brings it closer to its goal of introducing a bioengineered wheat variety.
Despite the progress, Robb Fraley, executive vice-president and chief technology officer, said a product launch is
still "several years away."
"We have field tested and advanced
one of the first wheat biotech products
based on improvements in weed control," Mr. Fraley said during a Jan. 8
conference call to discuss first-quarter
results. "From an overall market perspective, the grain industry and the
wheat industry - specifically the
wheat trade industry - has remained
very interested and supportive of biotech advances.
"A wheat farmer generally is also a
corn and soybean farmer, and they understand the benefits of the technology,
and the wheat industry has watched
the benefits that this technology has

brought to both corn and soybeans.
And so we continue to make advances.
"We are still several years away
from a product launch, but it is nice to
see those products in the pipeline."
The herbicide-tolerant wheat product was designed to give growers another broad spectrum weed control

option for weed management with
glyphosate tolerant wheat. Monsanto
said field trials were conducted last
year in Fargo, N.D.
Monsanto's bioengineered wheat
project is one of 29 in the company's
overall pipeline of more than 70 projects that made "phase advancements"

Market research data indicate
moderate in-store bakery growth
ROCKVILLE, MD. - Retail dollar sales
of in-store bakery goods reached $13.4 billion in 2013, up from $12.8 billion in 2012,
according to a new report from the market
research firm Packaged Facts titled "Instore bakeries: U.S. market trends."
Consumer perception of the freshness
and quality of the products created in
store bakeries is driving sales, said David Sprinkle, research director. The success of the departments has not been lost
on competitors in the retail space, and
in-house bakeries have become critical

components in warehouse stores and
supercenters. The Packaged Facts report
added fresh baked goods are moving beyond the supermarket perimeter and into
convenience and drug stores as well.
The supermarket industry's reliance on
in-house bakeries, combined with higher
price points, has allowed the in-house
baked goods market to experience a dollar sales increase every year since 2008.
Packaged Facts predicts the gains will
continue through 2017 despite challenges
due to economic conditions and health

Flowers pursuing majority vote
standard for directors
THOMASVILLE, GA. - A proposal
for a majority voting standard for electing members to the Flowers Foods, Inc.
board of directors has been announced
by the company. The Flowers board
voted last week in favor of submitting
the ballot measure for consideration at
the company's 2014 annual meeting of
shareholders.
If approved, Flowers directors would
10 / January 21, 2014 Milling & Baking News

be elected to the board only if a majority
of the votes are affirmative. The Flowers
move toward a majority standard represents a trend in corporate governance
dating to 2005. Before then, directors of
publicly-traded companies were nearly
always elected in a plurality voting system in which the nominee who received
the highest number of votes cast for an
open seat would be elected, regardless of

during the past year. Mr. Fraley cited
"an exponential step" in the pace and
breadth of Monsanto's research and
development engine.
"We have expanded the number of
projects and platforms as we capitalized on the only pipeline in the industry that truly targets a total system for
yield and productivity," he said. He
added the expansion of the pipeline
coupled with some fast-cycle technology has opened the door for Monsanto
to advance projects in "waves" as opposed to just a dozen or so.
Monsanto field tested Roundup
Ready wheat in Oregon and several
other states from 1998 through 2005
but discontinued that program in 2005
when the company determined the
market was not yet ready to accept a
bioengineered wheat.
Bioengineered wheat also was in
the news last summer after an Oregon
State University scientist notified the
U.S. Department of Agriculture that
plant samples had tested positive for
a protein that made them resistant to
glyphosate. Extensive testing by the
U.S.D.A. following the detection of the
plants confirmed the wheat as a variety developed by Monsanto. MBN
and diet concerns.
The research firm doesn't expect consumer spending to surge during the next
few years, but the popularity of sandwiches as a staple of American-style, onthe-go eating will support sales, and most
consumers still will want to indulge at
least occasionally in sweet baked affordable indulgences.
Packaged Facts forecasts desserts
should continue to drive overall growth
with similar sizes, portion control, and
on-the-go products leading the way.
Breads and rolls, on the other hand,
should lag, but artisan and higher quality breads, as well as different varieties of
rolls, should stand out on shelves. MBN
the number of no votes, withheld votes or
votes simply not cast.
The Flowers proposal would apply
only to uncontested elections. A plurality
standard would continue to apply when
more than one individual stands for election to a single board seat.
Flowers said if the proposal is passed,
its board would amend its corporate governance guidelines requiring any holdover incumbent director who did not
receive the requisite majority vote would
be required to tender his or her resignation to the board of directors. MBN
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Milling & Baking News - January 21, 2014

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