Produce more. Conserve more.

Privacy Statement

Comment Policy

We know you’ve got plenty to say. Here at ProduceMoreConserveMore.com, we encourage dialogue about issues pertaining to agriculture, the environment, and the technologies and initiatives that can help the world’s farmers produce more food for our planet’s growing population while conserving natural resources. We welcome your thoughts and opinions on any and all of those topics.

A few things to keep in mind:

The first time you leave a comment, editors will have to approve it for posting. We do that to ensure that you’re not a machine. During the week, first-time moderation will typically occur within 24 hours (we don’t work weekends).
Personal attacks and foul language are not tolerated. Adding to the discussion, however, is encouraged.
Stay on topic. Off-topic comments will be removed from the site.
Comments revealing personal information (e.g. place of residence, personal history) about individuals contributing to the site or other commenters will be removed.
Comments should contribute to the dialogue. Please support any claims with links to sources whenever possible. We love opinions. We love it even more when you back them up.

If you have comments or other questions that are not answered here, please contact us.

Privacy Policy

Monsanto Company values the privacy of individuals who visit the web sites which are operated throughout the world by Monsanto or its subsidiaries and adheres to the privacy standards which have been adopted by the countries in which Monsanto companies operate. This statement sets forth the important information which individuals who visit these sites need to know about how Monsanto companies collect and use personal information from web site visitors.

In this Privacy Policy, “Monsanto” refers to Monsanto Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including the business unit of Monsanto that operates the web site on which this Privacy Policy is found.

Please read this policy carefully. By visiting a Monsanto web site and using the services provided on that site, you are indicating your agreement to Monsanto’s use of your personal information as set out in this Policy.

This Policy is intended to be in compliance with the applicable privacy laws and regulations of each country in which Monsanto operates and from which personally identifiable information is collected. To the extent the laws of a country may prohibit Monsanto from using and sharing personal information in a way described in this Policy, the Policy and Monsanto’s practices shall be deemed modified to be consistent with such local laws.

What Does This Policy Cover?

This Privacy Policy applies to Monsanto web sites and information collected by and through those web sites. It does not apply to any other Monsanto services or dealings with users or customers and does not apply to third-party sites which may be linked to the Monsanto site.

Collection of Information

Monsanto web sites collect personally identifiable information only from individuals who voluntarily choose to provide the information through the web site. (In this Policy the foregoing information is referred to as “Personal Information.”) That Personal Information may be collected in several different ways:

Some sites may permit users to request a “user i.d.” and password which can be used on future visits to the site. Visitors to the site may be asked to supply their name, geographic location and some information about their business or occupation or other reason for interest in the site. In addition, some sites permit users to supply an e-mail address to sign up for Monsanto newsletters. Other sites may include feedback or comment forms whereby users can submit questions or comments to Monsanto. (In this Policy, the foregoing information is referred to as “User Information.”)
Some sites may permit users to enter into transactions with Monsanto or to take advantage of services provided by Monsanto to its customers through that site or through its offices around the world. On such sites, users will be required to provide detailed information necessary to enable Monsanto to process the transaction and to provide the goods or services requested by the visitor. Visitors may be requested to provide financial information, including credit card or bank information, in connection with such transactions. Visitors may also be asked to provide information about the pesticide and other licenses which they hold in order to determine whether Monsanto can lawfully sell the products requested by the visitor. (In this Policy, the foregoing information is referred to as “Transactional Information.”)
Some Monsanto web sites may provide chat rooms or discussion forums where users may register and post messages or comments. Participation in such discussion areas is entirely voluntary. No information which a user posts in such an area is private, inasmuch as it will be accessible to other users of the same area. Thus, any Personal Information which a user chooses to post in such an area will not be subject to this Privacy Policy.
From time-to-time our site may request additional information from users by means of surveys or contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose whatever additional information may be requested. Information requested through surveys and contests may include additional demographic information. (In this Policy, the foregoing information is referred to as “Survey Information.”)

In addition to the foregoing Personal Information, each site automatically logs information about a visitor from the browser used to access the site (e.g., Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.). This includes information about the I.P. address of the visitor, the pages in the site which are visited from that address and the web site which the user visited just prior to the Monsanto site. (In this Policy, the foregoing information is referred to as “Visit Information.”) None of this Visit Information permits personal identification of the individual user who is accessing the Monsanto site; thus Visit Information is not considered Personal Information in this Policy. Visit Information will be used by Monsanto to diagnose problems with its web servers, to administer, design and construct its web sites, to track visitor movements on the web sites and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use only.

Cookies

A cookie is a small data file that web sites commonly write to the site visitor’s hard drive when a site is visited. A cookie file contains information that can identify a return visitor each time he or she visits our site. The data is encrypted for added security. Monsanto’s web sites may use cookies as a way to measure activity and traffic patterns on the site in order to continually improve the visitor’s experience. Cookies also provide visitors the convenience of not having to log in a password more than once on a Monsanto site, thereby saving the visitor time while on our site.

A browser can be set to warn the users before accepting cookies. Users can choose to refuse cookies by turning them off in the browser. Users do not need to have cookies turned on to visit our web site, but will need them to use certain customizable features of our web site such as automatically displaying local weather and crop forecasts, accessing certain areas of our web site, and transacting business on our web site.

Monsanto’s Use of Your Personal Information

Your Personal Information may be used to communicate with you about your use of our sites, to let you know about changes to our services or our site or to provide services to you or to improve our understanding of what visitors want and need to see on the sites. In particular:

User Information may be used by Monsanto primarily to enhance the usability and friendliness of the Monsanto web sites and to ensure that the information which is provided is timely and relevant and meets the needs of our visitors. Monsanto may also use the information which visitors voluntarily furnish through these sites to provide information and promotional material to persons who have visited the Monsanto sites and to process specific requests for information which visitors may make. (See “Opting In / Opting Out” below if you do not wish to receive such materials from Monsanto.)
Transactional Information will be used by Monsanto to process and complete the transaction for goods or services requested by the visitor.
Survey Information will be used in a manner similar to User Information but will be used primarily in aggregate form to provide Monsanto with information on customer needs, product design, market demand, etc.

Also, you should know that your Personal Information, as well as Visit Information collected at a Monsanto site, may be used by Monsanto security personnel if deemed necessary to protect Monsanto from a threat or other perceived security risk and such information may be shared with law enforcement authorities if appropriate.

Sharing and Disclosure of Your Information

Monsanto may share Personal Information with others for a number of purposes:

We may provide contact information to our trade partners, advertisers and other interested parties so that they may contact you directly to furnish you information about their products and services. (As used in this Policy, “Trade Partners” means businesses not owned or operated by Monsanto but which provide compatible goods or services which may be desired by or potentially useful for visitors to the Monsanto web sites.) (See “Opting In / Opting Out” below if you do not wish to receive such materials from Trade Partners.)
We will provide aggregated data about products and services purchased, visitor interests, demographics and other information collected from our web site to our Trade Partners, advertisers and other interested parties so that they can learn what products and services are most popular to our customers. Aggregated data will be in anonymous group statistical form and not associated with any individual person.
We may use a credit card processing company to bill web site visitors for products and services which they request.
We may partner with other parties to provide specific services. When the user signs up for these services, we will share names or other contact information that is necessary for the third parties to provide these services. These parties will not be allowed to use personally identifiable information except for the purpose of providing these services.
We also may share Personal Information about visitors to our web sites among its corporate affiliates and subsidiary companies for purposes related to the business of those affiliates and subsidiaries.

Monsanto may also share Personal Information about web site visitors with third parties under the following circumstances:

When you consent to disclosure;
To comply with law, court orders, subpoena or legal process;
To enforce or apply Monsanto’s agreements or protect Monsanto and its rights,
By operation of law, when such Personal Information is transferred as a part of sale of assets including the assets represented by this site; or
In the event that Monsanto, or substantially all of its assets, are acquired outside of the ordinary course of business, and such Personal Information may be one of the transferred assets.

Transfers of Information

Because Monsanto operates from its headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States of America and through subsidiary companies located in many countries around the globe, and because its web servers which host its web sites are located at numerous locations inside and outside the United States, it is possible that Personal Information about visitors may be transferred from one country to another. Such transfers will only occur in compliance with the applicable local law relevant to the source of the information.

When you furnish Personal Information to Monsanto through a Monsanto web site, you are also giving your consent to a cross-border transfer of that information unless you specifically elect not to have the information transferred at the time you furnish it to us and inform us of your decision according to the instructions on the site through which the information is provided.

Children and Privacy

Monsanto does not knowingly collect information from or about children age 13 and under.

Opting In / Opting Out

Upon registering at any Monsanto web site which collects Personal Information, visitors will be given an opportunity to determine whether they wish to receive promotional materials from Monsanto or from Trade Partners. The manner and method in which a Monsanto site permits users to opt out of receiving such materials will be described on the individual site collecting that Personal Information. If the user would like to “opt out” at a later time, he may do so by following the instructions on the site where the original request was made or the instructions contained in the e-mail messages delivering such materials to him.

Likewise, you may withdraw your consent to the collection or use of your Personal Information at any time by sending an email message to email.webguru@monsanto.com identifying yourself and describing the Personal Information which you believe has been collected through this site.

Correction/Updating of Personal Information

Each site which collects Personal Information will provide users with instructions regarding correcting or updating that Personal Information. Some sites may maintain a user account section where visitors can make corrections themselves; others may provide an email link or contact information to request us to make those changes; generally, user requests for an update of Personal Information will be honored within a reasonable time after we receive a request. However, no changes to personal information will be permitted where the change would result in incorrect information or would alter a transaction with us already completed.

Retention of Personal Information

Monsanto will periodically delete Personal Information collected from visitors to its web sites if it is no longer needed for any purpose for which the information may be used or disclosed under the terms of this Policy.

Security

Monsanto takes precautions to protect users’ information. Our safeguards include technical means and policies and procedures that our staff is trained to follow. In any event in which a Monsanto web site is hosted by a third party, these safeguards shall also apply. If as a registered user you receive a password, you should keep it confidential because it is the key to access to the information held by Monsanto about you. If you leave your computer’s internet browser running and someone else uses your computer, they will be able to access your account; thus, if your computer is not physically secure remember to shut down your browser before you leave it.

We try to reduce the likelihood of accidental disclosures and unintended access and modification of account information, but it is impossible to eliminate this possibility completely. When users submit sensitive information via the website, their information is protected both on-line and off-line.

When an enrollment or order form asks users to enter sensitive information (such as credit card number) that information is encrypted and is protected with the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.

While Monsanto uses SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online, it also takes steps to protect user-information off-line. All of our users’ information, not just the sensitive information mentioned above, is restricted in our offices. Monsanto employees are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices. Any time new policies are added, our employees are notified and/or reminded about the importance we place on privacy, and what they can do to ensure our customers’ information is protected.

Protecting Your Own Privacy

Please keep in mind that whenever you voluntarily disclose personal information online – for example on message boards, through email, or in chat areas – that information can be collected and used by others. Ultimately, you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your passwords and/or any account information.

Changes to Policy

If Monsanto decides to change its privacy policies and practices, we will post those changes to our Privacy Policy on our web site in advance of the changes taking effect, so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, we will notify users. Users will have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner. We will continue to be able to use information in accordance with the Privacy Policy under which the information was collected.

Contacting Monsanto

Each Monsanto web site provides a Contact Us section to facilitate feedback from site visitors. Please use this facility to notify us if you have any questions, concerns or complaints about the manner in which your personal information has been collected or handled by Monsanto, or contact Monsanto’s offices in your country.

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