Monsanto #News Release:

Monsanto Recognized as A 2015 CIO 100 Award Winner

Company’s Internet Of Things Initiative Honored By CIO Magazine For Innovative Business Technology

Monday June 1, 2015

Dateline:

ST. LOUIS

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"Our greatest priority is unlocking digital yield for our farmers"

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CIO magazine today announced Monsanto Company as a recipient of the 2015 CIO 100 Awards. The program, in its 28^th year, recognizes organizations around the world that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology (IT).

“The world is looking for sustainable solutions to nourish a growing world, and IT teams have the opportunity to help farmers meet the challenge through technology innovation, digitization and decision science,” said Jim Swanson, Monsanto Chief Information Officer. “This is an exciting time to be in IT at Monsanto, and it’s an honor to have our work recognized by CIO magazine.”

CIO honored Monsanto for an Internet of Things (IoT) initiative enabling real-time data stream and decisions for its R&D and Supply Chain organizations. IoT is an emerging technology in multiple industries that promises to connect billions of devices, making them smart and connected.

Monsanto’s IT team brought IoT to the company’s R&D pipeline, putting sensors in combines and collecting real-time data on yields, soil quality and moisture, improving data quality and increasing data volume. Working with a logistics vendor, the team was also able to use sensors to track real time location and temperature in the routing of seed shipments, ensuring that problem scenarios including overly hot conditions could be mitigated, reducing loss and optimizing operations.

As the world’s farmers will need to feed a global population that’s expected to grow from 7.1 billion people today to at least 9.6 billion in 2050, innovations in predictive analytics and decision sciences are some of the tools Monsanto is using to help make a balanced meal accessible for everyone.

“Our greatest priority is unlocking digital yield for our farmers,” said Swanson. “In IT, we are always asking, ‘how do we turn information into food?’ That is our North Star and it gives us the freedom to think broadly.”

Third party organizations continue to recognize Monsanto as a good corporate citizen and an employer of choice. In 2015, Monsanto has been recognized as a Great Place to Work^® in eight countries, as one of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity by DiversityInc, as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by Forbes^® Magazine, one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens by CR Magazine, and as a Top Employer for LGBT Equality by Human Rights Campaign^™. For more information on these recognitions and others, seeMonsanto’s list of workplace recognitions.

“For 28 years now, the CIO 100 Awards have honored the innovative use of technology to deliver genuine business value,” said Maryfran Johnson, Editor in Chief of CIO magazine & Events. “Our 2015 winners are an outstanding example of the transformative power of IT to drive everything from revenue growth to competitive advantage.”

Recipients of this year’s CIO 100 Award were selected through a three-step process. First, companies filled out an online application form detailing their innovative IT and business initiatives. Next, a team of external judges (many of them former CIOs) reviewed the applications in depth, looking for leading-edge IT practices and measurable results. Finally, CIO editors reviewed the judges’ recommendations and selected the final 100.

Coverage of the 2015 CIO 100 Awards will be available online at CIO.com on August 1, 2015 and in the August issue of CIOmagazine.

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 discover.monsanto.com and monsanto.com. Follow our business on Twitter^® attwitter.com/MonsantoCo, on the company blog, Beyond the Rows^® at monsantoblog.com or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.