ST. LOUIS — Monsanto Co. has entered a licensing agreement with Dow Chemical Co.’s Dow AgroSciences unit under which Monsanto will license its Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield genetic trait for soybeans to Dow, giving it the rights to combine the trait with other biotechnology.

“Through our collaborative relationship with Dow AgroSciences, more farmers will be able to experience the higher yield opportunity of Roundup Ready 2 Yield in new trait combinations and soybean brands they prefer,” said Brett Begemann, executive vice-president of global seeds and traits at Monsanto. “This agreement is further validation that the Roundup Ready 2 Yield platform is a solid foundation for industry-leading soybean performance.”

Antonio Galindez, president and chief executive officer of Dow AgroSciences, said Dow’s experience working with the trait gives the company confidence it will be able to expand the licensing agreement.

“The trait offers our farmer customers the high yield opportunity they look for in soybean seeds, and we’re excited about the future trait combinations we’ll be able to offer our customers in the future to help them produce more, and to do it more efficiently,” Mr. Galindez said.

The Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean trait is currently in more than 70 varieties across multiple brands on 6 million acres.