The Delta and Pine Land Scholarship Endowment was established in 2004 by the Delta and Pine Land Company. The scholarship is awarded to junior, senior and graduate students in the Department of Plant and Soil Science. It is preferred the students be well-rounded individuals, showing an interest in the seed industry. The students' work ethic, enthusiasm and leadership abilities are as important, or even more important, as their academic success.

Delta & Pine Land Company (a wholly owned subsidiary of Monsanto) was initially chartered in Mississippi in 1886 as a land speculation company, but was inactive until 1919, when a British textile company acquired the name. In the 1920s and 1930s, the company operated one of the largest cotton plantations in the Mississippi Delta, with headquarters in Scott, Mississippi. In the latter half of the 20th century, the company divested its farm lands, concentrated on research and development of cotton and soybean seeds, and became world-renowned for its development of Deltapine cotton varieties.

In the 1990s, research between D&PL and the U.S. Department of Agriculture resulted in three U.S. patents on terminator seed technology. The first patent (Number 5723765) was issued on March 3, 1998. Advocates claimed that the technology restricted the introduction of genetically modified plants into nature by causing second generation seeds to be sterile. The opposing point of view was that farmers who used terminator seeds could no longer rely on saved seeds to produce subsequent crops. During the 1990s, D&PL had entered into successful research ventures with Monsanto.

In 1998, Monsanto agreed to merge with D&PL, but the agreement collapsed under antitrust scrutiny by the Department of Justice. By 2006, antitrust concerns were reduced because of changing market conditions and competition from Bayer CropScience. Subsequently, Monsanto made an offer to buy D&PL, and in June 2007, D&PL became a wholly owned subsidiary of Monsanto. In September 2016, Monsanto agreed to a takeover offer by Bayer, pending regulatory approval.

To support this scholarship, “Give Now” online.

 

Contact

Alex Yack
Alex.Yack@ttu.edu
Senior Director of Development
806.742.2802

Matt Williams
matt.williams@ttu.edu
Director of Development
806.742.2802

Shelbey Havens
shelbey.havens@ttu.edu
Assistant Director of Development
806.834.1108