Monsanto Co. today announced that its Board of Directors unanimously views the Bayer AG proposal as incomplete and financially inadequate, but is open to continued and constructive conversations to assess whether a transaction in the best interest of Monsanto shareowners can be achieved.

Monsanto Co. signaled that it will lower some seed prices due to resistance from farmers to recent price increases.

Monsanto Chief Executive Hugh Grant said Tuesday that the federal investigation into anticompetitive practices in the seed industry "is the result of the fact that we have grown quickly and have been very succcessful."