ST. LOUIS, March 2, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For the third year in a row, Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) was named today to Corporate Responsibility (CR) Magazine's list of "100 Best Corporate Citizens" for 2010. Monsanto ranks No. 31 overall and leads the agricultural products sector on the magazine's 11th annual ranking of corporate responsibility performance of major U.S. companies.

"Monsanto is honored to be recognized among the '100 Best Corporate Citizens' for our leadership in such important areas as climate change and employee relations," said Jerry Steiner, executive vice president, sustainability and corporate affairs for Monsanto. "As an agricultural technology leader, we strive to deliver products that benefit farmers and the global communities they serve, while protecting the environment. This ranking is a testament to the Monsanto employees who carry out this mission with integrity and ingenuity every day."

First published in 1999, the "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list ranks large-cap Russell 1000 companies based on publicly available information in seven key categories: Environment, Climate Change, Human Rights, Philanthropy, Employee Relations, Finance and Governance.

Monsanto has been included on CR Magazine's list since 2008. This year, Monsanto improved its score in the areas of climate change and employee relations. The full list of companies, along with details on scoring, will be available online at www.thecro.com on March 9.

"Company stakeholders from investors to customers to employees to regulators watch the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List closely, and are using it now more than ever to make important decisions," said CR Magazine Publisher Jay Whitehead. "That is why we are seeing leading companies focusing in greater numbers on their public reporting and performance, particularly in the areas of climate change, environment, employee relations, and human rights."

This ranking is one of several accolades recently received by Monsanto, including being named "Company of the Year" by Forbes Magazine and one of FORTUNE Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2010.

To learn more about Monsanto's sustainable agriculture and humanitarian projects around the world, including Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) and Project SHARE in India, please visit www.monsanto.com/responsibility/sustainable-ag. You can also link directly to our latest Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report at

http://www.monsanto.com/pdf/responsibility/2008-2009_mon_csr_report.pdf.

About Monsanto Company

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com . Follow our business on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on Facebook® at www.facebook.com/MonsantoCo, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed .

CONTACT | Media: Darren Wallis (314-694-5674)

SOURCE Monsanto Company