BIOTECHNICA INTERNATIONAL, INC.
             NINTH AMENDMENT TO SECURED REVOLVING CREDIT AGREEMENT
              AND SIXTH AMENDMENT TO SECURED REVOLVING CREDIT NOTE



Harris Trust and Savings Bank
Chicago, IL

Gentlemen:

Reference is hereby made to that certain Secured Revolving Credit 
Agreement dated as of October 26, 1993, as amended (the "Credit 
Agreement") between the undersigned, BioTechnica International, Inc., a 
Delaware corporation (the "Company") and you (the "Bank").  All 
capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have the same 
meanings herein as such terms have in the Credit Agreement.

The Company has requested that the Bank make certain amendments to the 
Credit Agreement and the Bank is willing to do so under the terms and 
conditions set forth in this Amendment.

1.   AMENDMENTS.

Upon your acceptance hereof in the space provided for that purpose 
below, and the satisfaction of the conditions precedent set forth in 
Section 3 hereof, the Credit Agreement shall be and hereby is amended as 
follows:

1.1.   Section 1.1(a) of the Credit Agreement shall be amended by 
replacing the date "December 1, 1997" appearing therein with the date 
"December 31, 1998".

1.2.   Exhibit A to the Credit Agreement and the Revolving Note of the 
Company payable to the order of Harris Trust and Savings Bank (the 
"Note") shall each be amended by replacing the date "December 31, 1997" 
appearing in the first paragraph therein with the date "December 31, 
1998".

1.3.   The Bank shall type the following legend on its Note:

       "This Note has been amended pursuant to the terms of a Ninth 
Amendment to Secured Revolving Credit Agreement and Sixth Amendment to 
Secured Revolving Credit Note dated as of December ___, 1997, including 
an extension of the maturity date hereof, to which reference is hereby 
made for a statement of terms thereof".

2.   CONDITIONS PRECEDENT.

The effectiveness of this Amendment is subject to the satisfaction of 
all of the following conditions precedent:

2.1.   The Company and the Bank shall have executed and delivered this 
Amendment.

2.2.   Each of the representations and warranties set forth in Section 5 
of the Credit Agreement shall be true and correct.

2.3.   The Company shall be in full compliance with all of the terms and 
conditions of the Credit Agreement and no Event of Default or Potential 
Default shall have occurred and be continuing thereunder or shall result 
after giving effect to this Amendment.

2.4.   All legal matters incident to the execution and delivery hereof 
and the instruments and documents contemplated hereby shall be 
satisfactory to the Bank.

2.5.   Each of Genetics and each Guarantor Subsidiary shall have 
executed and delivered to the Bank its acknowledgment in the form set 
forth below.

2.6   The Bank shall have received copies, certified as true, complete 
and correct by the secretary or assistant secretary of the Company, of 
resolutions adopted by the Company's Board of Directors authorizing the 
Company to execute and deliver this Amendment and perform its 
obligations under the Credit Agreement and Note as amended hereby.

3.   REPRESENTATIONS.

In order to induce the Bank to execute and deliver this Amendment, the 
Company hereby represents to the Bank that as of the date hereof, each 
of the representations and warranties set forth in Section 5 of the 
Credit Agreement are and shall be and remain true and correct (except 
that the representations contained in Section 5.4 shall be deemed to 
refer to the most recent financial statements of the Company delivered 
to the Bank) and the Company is in full compliance with all of the terms 
and conditions of the Credit Agreement and no Potential Default or Event 
of Default has occurred and is continuing thereunder or shall result 
after giving effect to this Amendment.

4.   MISCELLANEOUS.

4.1.   The Company has heretofore executed and delivered to the Bank 
that certain Security Agreement Re:  Accounts Receivable, General 
Intangibles and Inventory dated as of October 26, 1993 (the "Security 
Agreement") and the Company hereby agrees that notwithstanding the 
execution and delivery of this Amendment, the Security Agreement shall 
be and remain in full force and effect and that any rights and remedies 
of the Bank thereunder, obligations of the Company thereunder and any 
liens and security interests created or provided for thereunder shall be 
and remain in full force and effect and shall not be affected, impaired 
or discharged thereby.  Nothing herein contained shall in any manner 
affect or impair the priority of the liens and security interests 
created and provided for by the Security Agreement as to the 
indebtedness which would be secured thereby prior to giving effect to 
this Amendment.

4.2.   Except as specifically amended herein, the Credit Agreement and 
the Note shall continue in full force and effect in accordance with its 
original terms.  Reference to this specific Amendment need not be made 
in any note, document, letter, certificate, the Credit Agreement itself, 
the Note or any communication issued or made pursuant to or with respect 
to the Credit Agreement or the Note, any reference in any of such to the 
Credit Agreement or the Note being sufficient to refer to the Credit 
Agreement or the Note as amended hereby.

4.3.   The Company agrees to pay on demand all costs and expenses of or 
incurred by the Bank in connection with the negotiation, preparation, 
execution and delivery of this Amendment, including the fees and 
expenses of counsel for the Bank.

4.4.   This Amendment may be executed in any number of counterparts, and 
by the different parties on different counterparts, all of which taken 
together shall constitute one and the same agreement.  Any of the 
parties hereto may execute this Amendment by signing any such 
counterpart and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be 
deemed to be an original.  This Amendment shall be governed by the 
internal laws of the State of Illinois.

Dated as of December ___, 1997.


BIOTECHNICA INTERNATIONAL, INC.

By:  /s/  Bruno Carette
Its:      President-CEO


Accepted and agreed to as of the date and year last above written.

HARRIS TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK

By:  /s/ Julie K. Hossack
Its:     Vice President