Ag Headlines, Wednesday April 6, 2016

La Niña Arriving Sooner than Expected

La Niña appears to be arriving sooner than expected. Reuter’s weather expert Karen Braun says the cold phase of tropical Pacific Ocean surface temperatures is occurring more rapidly than originally thought. New data indicates that the development of La Niña is underway. Organizers of a government forecast model announced the model had accumulated an error that was skewing results for global sea surface temperatures. Correction of the error has led to the prediction that La Niña will fully develop by July, compared to the previous forecast that was calling for El Niño to continue through the summer.

Cost Cutting by Farmers to Impact Input Industry

As expected, farmers are tightening their belts on everything from seed to fertilizer to equipment this year as they work to weather the drop in commodity prices. Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today reports this places heightened attention on Monsanto's quarterly earnings report that is due out today (Wednesday) with analysts expecting the company to report an 8.5 percent drop in revenue. Monsanto executives have said that the company's seed discounts and those of its rivals have been the steepest in years. Seed dealers have noted that farmers are passing on new varieties to save money. Nathan Kizer, seed manager at South Dakota Wheat Growers, says farmers have been moving away from seed stacked with multiple biotech traits and instead buying varieties that have been on the market three to five years.

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