KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Plans by Monsanto Co. to raise prices on its popular biotech corn and soybean seeds were, according to this story, sparking anger in the U.S. Farm Belt this week.

Nebraska seed dealer and farmer Steve Wiese was quoted as saying, "I do believe Monsanto should be more careful about trying to jam some more expense down farmers' throats. They need to walk carefully ... some farmers are thinking enough is enough."

Monsanto spokeswoman Lori Fisher was cited as saying the suggested retail price on its Roundup Ready corn seed would increase on average by about $3 a bag, while Roundup Ready soybean seed would go up by about $2 a bag, representing about a 2 percent markup on corn and a 10 percent hike on soybean.

Fisher was further cited as saying Monsanto was implementing the price hikes in the United States, where the lion's share of the company's biotech seed business is conducted, but at this point, Monsanto has not decided whether to raise corn and soybean prices in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Fisher added that customer surveys showed the value of the technology was great enough to support much larger price increases, but Monsanto was not pursuing those, stating, "Farmers are ascribing a higher value to any seed that has a Roundup Ready trait to it ... because of the advantage it gives them."

Vic Miller, an Iowa corn and bean grower, was quoted as saying, "There is a great amount of frustration connected with this entire concept. Usually, if there is a price increase, there is additional value. We're not getting any additional value."

Farmers also expressed frustration that the price hikes came despite competition from soybeans grown inexpensively in Brazil, where Roundup Ready soybeans are grown illicitly after seed is essentially smuggled in from nearby Argentina.