To advance its work, Monsanto has acquired the assets of WestBred, LLC, a Montana-based company that specialises in wheat germplasm.

The transaction will give WestBred access to Monsanto’s technology platforms to provide wheat farmers benefits through both breeding and biotechnology.

Researchers will be able to apply Monsanto's expertise in conventional and marker-assisted breeding tools to develop better-yielding varieties for US farmers using WestBred’s germplasm as a foundation.

These seeds will serve as the foundation for the development of new biotechnology traits, which will initially focus on drought tolerance, nitrogen use and higher yield.

Biotechnology will be a longer-term prospect, consistent with the company's 8-to-10 year development cycle.

Monsanto will also explore herbicide-tolerance and disease-resistance opportunities to meet wheat farmers' needs, but the company's plans do not include further development of the first-generation Roundup Ready trait in wheat.

"The US wheat industry has come together to call for new technology investment, and we believe we have game-changing technologies – like our drought-tolerance and improved-yield traits – that can meaningfully address major challenges wheat growers face every season," said Carl Casale, executive vice president of global strategy and operations for Monsanto.

"Through WestBred, we'll be able to deliver advances in breeding and biotechnology to deliver a step-change in yield while creating a springboard for new partnerships and collaboration opportunities that create additional value for farmers."

WestBred, owned indirectly by Barkley Seed, Inc., is a premier private wheat germplasm company in the United States, with germplasm assets in all classes of wheat.

WestBred’s existing breeding capabilities and commercial operations will become the centerpiece of Monsanto's wheat platform.

In addition, Monsanto will seek public and private partnerships that can help deliver on the promise of technology improvements in wheat for farmers.

Because the $45 million acquisition represents a long-term investment in research and development and breeding, the company does not expect the acquisition to be accretive to earnings until the middle to latter part of the next decade.