Born on a farm and educated in genetic engineering, Fraley saw a new future for biotechnology—agriculture. At Stanford, Fraley’s post doc work focused on Liposmes – small fatty structures that move freely through the membranes of plant cells. Hired at Monsanto in 1981, he proved to be both a good scientist and an excellent manager. He collaborated with university scientists around the country and led the Monsanto teams that developed herbicide-resistant petunias and then soybeans. This work enabled farmers to kill weeds without damaging their crops.