Team North of Carman, Manitoba Captures 2011-2012 DEKALB Super League Championship Sponsored by Monsanto

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA--(Marketwire - Jan. 16, 2012) - Dean North and his curling team from Carman, Manitoba pulled off three straight wins to capture the 2011-12 DEKALB Super League title, defeating Daryl Bachalo of Portage, Manitoba by a score of 6-5 in a close game that came down to an extra end at the Carman Curling Club this past weekend.

Team North - consisting of Dean North, Darcy Hayward, Bill, North, Warren McCutcheon and Bill North Sr. - are the first team from Carman to win the DEKALB Super League title in its 10-year history. They took home the $3,000 grand prize as this year's winning team.

"We congratulate the North rink on securing the championship and want to thank all the teams for their support and great play during the 2011-12 season," said Trish Jordan, public and industry affairs director with Monsanto Canada. "It is great to bring the DEKALB name to so many rural communities across Southern Manitoba and offer our support to the clubs and teams who participate and help make the DEKALB Super League a success."

It was the first year of participation for Team Bachalo - consisting of Daryl Bachalo, Dean Moxham, Greg Brooks, and Trent Botterill - and they made a splash during the playoff round after finishing in 5th place with a 3 and 5 record during regular season play. Bachalo defeated last year's champion, Randy Neufeld of Lasalle in his morning game (9-3) and followed that with a win over the league-leading, Ryan Hyde of Portage by a score of 8-3.

The North rink defeated Ryan Thompson in their morning game by a score of 7-3 and then took on second place David Hamblin in their semi-final game, which they won by a score of 6-5 to earn their spot in the final.

In the 3-4 ranking game, between semi-final losers David Hamblin of Morris and Ryan Hyde of Portage, Hamblin scored a 6-1 victory. In the semi-finals, Hamblin had lost to North (6-5) while Hyde was beaten by Bachalo (8-3).

In the 5-6 ranking game, Randy Neufeld-LaSalle defeated Ryan Thomson-Miami 6-3. Neufeld had lost his morning quarter-final 9-3 to Daryl Bachalo-Portage while Thomson was beaten 7-3 by Dean North Carman.

In the 7-8 ranking game (the Consolation final), Rob Findlay's Carman team made short work of the Monsanto entry skipped by Bob Bartley of Carman. Findlay scored on the first three ends and Bartley conceded after he scored one on the fourth end.

Earlier, in the 8-9 ranking game, the Bartley-Monsanto foursome dominated Tom Hyde-Portage scoring a 7 to 3 victory to advance to the late game.

Sponsored by Monsanto and its DEKALB seed brand, the DEKALB Super League is a competitive curling league that runs October through January annually and features many of the top amateur, competitive curling teams in Southern Manitoba. In total, there was $8,600 up for grabs by the nine teams participating in the championship round.

Monsanto contributes $10,000 in funding to support the league, which is coordinated and managed by a volunteer executive made up of the players. You can learn more about the league, this year's teams and final results at http://www.thecurler.com/dekalbsuperleague.

Teams interested in playing in the DEKALB Super League in 2012-13 should contact Tom Hyde for information about next year's schedule and entry fee, or email Trish Jordan at Monsanto (Trish.L.Jordan@monsanto.com).

About DEKALB/Monsanto

DEKALB brand seed is part of the larger global Monsanto family. Monsanto Canada is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Monsanto Company is an agricultural company and a leading global provider of technology - focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of world's natural resources such as water and energy. Learn more about our business and our commitments at www.monsanto.ca.