ST. LOUIS — Monsanto Co. and Bayer CropScience AG have agreed to cross license one another’s herbicide tolerance traits in canola/rapeseed. The non-exclusive agreement allows for the shared traits to be used for commercialization in each of the company’s branded canola seed business.

Monsanto will grant Bayer access to the Genuity Roundup Ready canola trait. Bayer will grant Monsanto access to the LibertyLink tolerance trait for canola. Also covered in the pact are specified rights to future herbicide tolerance traits and other agronomic traits that may be introduced by either party for use in canola.

The agreement will provide "canola growers with greater choice and flexibility in the future," said Joachim Schneider, head of the BioScience Business unit at Bayer Crop Science, based in Monheim, Germany.