Monsanto profits on 'decade of the soybean'

Much has been made of  Monsanto’s recent push into big data, but company officials on Wednesday declared it the “decade of the soybean.”

The Creve Coeur-based company reported second-quarter profits of $1.67 billion, a 12.7 percent increase from the same quarter a year earlier. Company officials cited growth of its core seeds and traits business, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.

Sales of soybean seeds and traits were up 21 percent to $820 million, compared with $677 million in the prior-year period.

“This is early validation of the decade of the soybean,” Chairman and CEO Hugh Grant said during an earnings call Wednesday.

Read more from the St. Louis Business Journal.