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Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]  
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Text Block] GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS
Goodwill
The following table summarizes changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by segment for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
(In millions)Crop ProtectionSeedTotal
Balance as of December 31, 2019$4,743 $5,486 $10,229 
Currency translation adjustment31 38 69 
Other goodwill adjustments and acquisitions1
(29)— (29)
Balance as of December 31, 2020$4,745 $5,524 $10,269 
Currency translation adjustment(73)(87)(160)
Other goodwill adjustments and acquisitions2
— (2)(2)
Balance as of December 31, 2021$4,672 $5,435 $10,107 
1.Primarily consists of the goodwill included in the sale of businesses in the crop protection segment.
2.Consists of the goodwill included in the sale of a business in the seed segment.

The company tests goodwill for impairment annually (during the fourth quarter), or more frequently when events or changes in circumstances indicate it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit has declined below its carrying value. As mentioned in Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, as a result of the Internal Reorganizations and Business Realignments, the company changed its reportable segments to seed and crop protection to reflect the manner in which the company's chief operating decision maker assesses performance and allocates resources. The change in reportable segments resulted in changes to the company's reporting units for goodwill impairment testing to align with the level at which discrete financial information is available for review by management. The company’s reporting units include seed, crop protection and digital.

During the second quarter of 2020, the company determined a triggering event had occurred as a result of changes in the company's long-term projections driven largely by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mid-term forecasted cash flows of the business, including, but not limited to currency fluctuations, expectations of future planted area (as influenced by consumer demand, ethanol markets and government policies and regulations) and relative commodity prices, which required an interim impairment assessment for its seed and crop protection reporting units and trade name indefinite lived intangible asset. Based on the impairment analysis performed over the company’s trade name indefinite lived intangible asset it was determined that the fair value approximated the carrying value, and no impairment charge was necessary.

The company performed quantitative testing on all of its reporting units and determined that no goodwill impairments existed in 2021 and 2020. As of December 31, 2021, accumulated impairment losses on goodwill were $4,503 million.
Other Intangible Assets
The gross carrying amounts and accumulated amortization of other intangible assets by major class are as follows: 
(In millions)December 31, 2021December 31, 2020
 GrossAccumulated
Amortization
NetGrossAccumulated
Amortization
Net
Intangible assets subject to amortization (Definite-lived):
      
Germplasm$6,265 $(571)$5,694 $6,265 $(317)$5,948 
Customer-related
1,953 (487)1,466 1,984 (380)1,604 
Developed technology1,485 (679)806 1,451 (525)926 
Trademarks/trade names1
2,012 (172)1,840 2,019 (99)1,920 
Favorable supply contracts
475 (396)79 475 (302)173 
Other2
405 (256)149 405 (239)166 
Total other intangible assets with finite lives
12,595 (2,561)10,034 12,599 (1,862)10,737 
Intangible assets not subject to amortization (Indefinite-lived):
      
IPR&D10 — 10 10 — 10 
Total other intangible assets
10 — 10 10 — 10 
Total$12,605 $(2,561)$10,044 $12,609 $(1,862)$10,747 
1.Beginning on October 1, 2020, the company changed its indefinite life assertion of its trade name asset to definite lived with a useful life of 25 years. This change is the result of the launch of BrevantTM seed in the retail channel in the U.S. Prior to changing the useful life of the trade name asset, the company tested the asset for impairment under ASC 350 - Intangibles, Goodwill and Other, concluding the asset was not impaired.
2.Primarily consists of sales and farmer networks, marketing and manufacturing alliances and noncompetition agreements.

During the third quarter of 2019, and in connection with strategic product and portfolio reviews, the company determined that the fair value of certain intangible assets classified as developed technology, other intangible assets and IPR&D within the seed segment that primarily relate to heritage DAS intangibles previously acquired from Cooperativa Central de Pesquisa Agrícola's ("Coodetec") was less than the carrying value due to the company’s focus on advancing more competitive products and eliminating redundancy and complexity across the breeding programs. For IPR&D and developed technology, the company concluded these projects were abandoned. For other intangible assets, the company performed an impairment assessment using the relief from royalty method (a form of the income approach) using Level 3 inputs within the fair value hierarchy. The significant assumptions used in the calculation included projected revenue, royalty rates and discount rates. These significant assumptions involve management judgment and estimates relating to future operating performance and economic conditions that may differ from actual cash flows. As a result, the company recorded a pre-tax, non-cash intangible asset impairment charge of $54 million ($41 million after-tax), which is reflected in restructuring and asset related charges - net, in the company's Consolidated Statements of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2019.

There were no indicators of impairment for the company’s other intangible assets that suggested that the fair value was less than its carrying value at December 31, 2019, except for IPR&D. As a result of the company’s decision, during the fourth quarter of 2019, to accelerate the ramp up of the Enlist E3TM trait platform in the company’s soybean portfolio mix across all brands over the subsequent five years with minimal use of the Roundup Ready 2 Yield® and Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® traits thereafter for the remainder of the Roundup Ready 2 License Agreement, the company determined that certain IPR&D projects associated with Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® were not recoverable and were impaired. These IPR&D projects were either abandoned or tested for impairment using the relief from royalty method (a form of the income approach) using Level 3 inputs within the fair value hierarchy. The key assumptions used in the relief from royalty method calculation included projected revenue, royalty rates and discount rates. These key assumptions involve management judgment and estimates relating to future operating performance and economic conditions that may differ from actual cash flows. As a result, the company recorded a pre-tax, non-cash intangible asset charge of $90 million ($69 million after-tax), which is reflected in restructuring and asset related charges - net, in the company's Consolidated Statements of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2019.

The aggregate pre-tax amortization expense from continuing operations for definite-lived intangible assets was $722 million, $682 million, and $475 million, for the year ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2020, and December 31, 2019, respectively.
Total estimated amortization expense for the next five fiscal years is as follows:
(In millions)
2022$700 
2023$620 
2024$606 
2025$569 
2026$558