Posted 8 November 2001. Plant Health Progress.

Syngenta Crop Protection Launches New FarmAssist^® Web Site

Syngenta Crop Protection. www.syngentacropprotection-us.com.

(Greensboro, NC, October 17, 2001) Syngenta Crop Protection announces the launch of its “FarmAssist®” web site (www.FarmAssist.com), which provides growers with access to a broad range of agricultural resources and crop production information. This innovative tool allows growers to quickly obtain facts and figures about agricultural issues that directly impact the success of their business.

Items featured on FarmAssist.com include frequently updated market news, cash grain bids, commodity price information, pest alerts, agronomic information, Syngenta product updates, and more. Growers can also access the “FarmAssist Resource” site, an electronic library containing up-to-date agricultural information such as pest identification, reference and treatment information; product recommendations; product labels and MSDS forms; and government forms and templates.

“FarmAssist allows growers to customize information specific to their needs — and it's available to them 24 hours a day,” said Warren Boerger, head of e-business at Syngenta.

"This initiative is only the first phase of an ongoing effort to assist customers with their agribusiness needs,” explained Boerger. “In a few weeks, we plan to release the new FarmAssist 6.0 management software. When growers combine the existing resources of the FarmAssist website with the capability of the new 6.0 software, they will have a very powerful, customized, total business management tool.”

FarmAssist was first introduced in 1985 as a hard-copy informational resource. In 1999, an Internet-based FarmAssist was developed and launched, where it could be more frequently updated and more readily available to customers.

Syngenta is a world leading agribusiness. The company ranks first in crop protection, and third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Pro forma sales in 2000 were approximately US $6.9 billion. Syngenta employs more than 20,000 people in over 50 countries. The company is committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative Research and Technology. Formed in November 2000 by the merger of Novartis Agribusiness and Zeneca Agrochemicals, Syngenta is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, and in London, New York and Stockholm.