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Not too long ago, we told you about Monsanto's plan to increase the price of certain corn seed by about $100 per bag. (We're talking $300 a bag in some cases.) Curious as to how much money this drains from rural America? Well, here's one example: if a farmer in Iowa who farms 1,000 acres plants one of these expensive corn varieties next year, the cost per acre will increase from $82 to $123, or a gross increase of more than $40,000.
It's pretty clear that Monsanto has quashed competition to the extent that it can raise prices unencumbered. It seems farmers have never had more forces against them, which is all the more reason for state attorneys general to ramp up their investigation into Monsanto's anticompetitive conduct in the seed industry. Read more and become involved here.
We've crunched the numbers for you and
created a data table that reflects the cumulative drain on farms by
state. (The table is after the jump.) And you can download a fact sheet on the issue here (opens PDF).
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Acres
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Percent Planted to Monsanto Traits
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Gross Monsanto Revenue Increase Per State
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Arkansas
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560,000
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70%
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$16,170,000
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California
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670,000
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70%
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$19,346,250
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Illinois
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13,200,000
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70%
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$381,150,000
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Indiana
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6,600,000
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70%
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$190,575,000
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Iowa
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14,300,000
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70%
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$412,912,500
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Kansas
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3,700,000
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70%
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$106,837,500
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Louisiana
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750,000
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70%
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$21,656,250
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Maryland
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540,000
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70%
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$15,592,500
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Michigan
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2,500,000
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70%
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$72,187,500
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Minnesota
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8,200,000
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70%
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$236,775,000
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Mississippi
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980,000
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70%
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$28,297,500
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Missouri
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3,500,000
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70%
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$101,062,500
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Montana
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70,000
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70%
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$2,021,250
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Nebraska
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250,000
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70%
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$7,218,750
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New
York
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1,060,000
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70%
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$30,607,500
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North
Carolina
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1,100,000
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70%
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$31,762,500
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Ohio
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4,000,000
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70%
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$115,500,000
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Pennsylvania
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1,450,000
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70%
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$41,868,750
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South
Dakota
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5,000,000
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70%
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$144,375,000
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Tennessee
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840,000
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70%
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$24,255,000
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Texas
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21,000,000
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70%
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$606,375,000
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Virginia
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530,000
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70%
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$15,303,750
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Wisconsin
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4,050,000
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70%
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$116,943,750
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This chart assumes plant population of
33,000 plants per acre. A bag of corn seed has 80,000 seeds. Each
acre is planted with .4125 bags. The final calculation is (total state
corn acres in 2007) x (percentage planted with Monsanto traits as per
Monsanto claimed national average) x (.4125 bags/acre) x ($100 price
increase).
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