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Monsanto’s Molokai farm achieves Wildlife Habitat Council certification

Monsanto has achieved the “Wildlife at Work” certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council for its conservation efforts on Molokai – the first company in Hawaii to receive this national recognition, according to a news release.

WHC is a nonprofit group of corporations, conservation organizations and individuals dedicated to promoting and certifying habitat conservation and management on corporate lands through partnerships and education.

A member of WHC since 1989, Monsanto’s participation in WHC’s Conservation Certification program has enabled its Molokai farm to receive assistance from WHC in its efforts to improve the facility’s wildlife habitat. Partnership with WHC has also provided Monsanto with an opportunity to demonstrate its responsible corporate environmental stewardship by formulating and implementing a balanced and operative wildlife management program.

Amongst the many conservation practices currently in place at Monsanto’s Molokai farm are: planting vegetative cover on fallow lands to prevent soil loss, performing contour tillage to increase water infiltration, performing deep tillage to ensure farmland remains healthy and productive, installing storm diversions to direct water away from fields, documenting wildlife species sighted on the farm, and planting permanent vegetation around the perimeter of fields for windbreaks.

This year alone, Monsanto employees planted nearly 1,850 native trees, shrubs and understory species to protect 478 acres of farmland, about one-third of the total 2,200 acres.

The plantings include 11 different native or endangered plants including koa, milo and ohai. The site will also serve as an outdoor educational classroom for people to learn about native Hawaiian plants.

“As part of our corporate environmental stewardship, we have strengthened our company’s goal of doubling crop yields using fewer resources such as land, water and energy per unit produced,” said Kali Arce, conservation lead for Monsanto Molokai. “We are focused on continuing to develop better seeds and improved on-farm practices that enable farmers to better manage weeds, pests and environmental stresses, and we are proud to make these tools of innovation available to millions of farmers around the world.”

“Monsanto Hawaii is honored to be recognized by the Wildlife Habitat Council for our conservation practices, and we’re very proud of the hard work and tremendous effort by our dedicated employees to achieve this certification,” said Ray Foster, Monsanto’s Molokai site manager. “The application process was very extensive, including planning, developing data sheets and maps, documenting the work performed and training. We could not have done it without the commitment and passion of our Monsanto team.”

On Jan. 1, WHC merged its signature Corporate Lands for Learning and Wildlife at Work programs into a single recognition program, “Conservation Certification.” Certification of Monsanto’s Molokai farm will run through 2017.

Since 1988, WHC has certified more than 1,000 habitat enhancement and conservation education programs worldwide.

For more information on WHC, visit www.wildlifehc.org.

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