Monsanto Company

Monsanto Company and Orkin Commercial Services: A Flourishing Partnership for More Than a Decade

Orkin’s partnership with Monsanto Company, a global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality, began more than a decade ago, when Orkin began servicing the company’s Chesterfield, Missouri, greenhouses and research-and-development facilities.

From the start, Orkin’s horticulture expert worked closely with Monsanto’s plant growth manager to develop a customized treatment program that would effectively protect the company’s products from pests without compromising safety and quality.

“Orkin has sustained an exceptionally high-quality horticultural pest control program for the last 14 years,” said Bill Schuler, Monsanto’s Trait Development Pipeline Operations Manager. “Our Orkin Pro has solved some pretty difficult pest control issues for us. I continue to be very pleased with their commitment and results.”

Pest Extermination for Seed Germination

Monsanto’s strict HACCP programs made them an ideal candidate for Orkin’s Gold Medal Protection program. Implemented at Monsanto in 2003, Gold Medal Protection is a proactive, custom-designed Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that goes a step further than Orkin’s standard service to provide the quality assurance and comprehensive documentation required to meet or exceed all HACCP, AIB, FDA and USDA requirements.

“Monsanto’s staff is very responsive to our sanitation, structural, landscaping and pest exclusion recommendations,” said Orkin Branch Manager John Townsend. “Their employees work hard to maintain a clean and pest-free facility and their overall level of sanitation is excellent.”

Monsanto’s Gold Medal Protection program is supported by Orkin’s Quality Assurance Team of professional entomologists, sanitarians and food safety experts. The QA Team evaluates the effectiveness of Monsanto’s program on a quarterly basis, working with facility staff after each inspection to evaluate and adjust the program as necessary.

A Flourishing Partnership

Following years of sustained successful pest management at Monsanto’s St. Louis area facilities, research facilities in Middleton, Wisconsin, and Mystic, Connecticut, contacted Orkin. Orkin has since adapted the Chesterfield facility’s IPM program to meet the Wisconsin and Connecticut operations’ needs.

Word of Orkin’s repeated success spread quickly throughout the Monsanto organization. Today, Orkin provides pest management services for multiple Monsanto locations nationwide. And the partnership continues to grow as Orkin works to adapt and implement Monsanto’s program for additional locations.

Gold Medal IPM Partner Award Winner

Because of their extraordinary commitment to a successful IPM partnership and their dedication to maintaining a clean, pest-free facility, Monsanto’s Chesterfield, Missouri, facility was selected by The IPM Institute of North America and Orkin to receive a 2004 Gold Medal IPM Partner Award. It was one of only four facilities nationwide to win the award.