Farmer’s Weekly – 23 August 2019

(Kiana) #1

WeeklyneWsWrap


“TheOverberghasnotyet
experiencedwinter,butweare
stillinthegame;thepotential
is there.”Thiswasaccording
toRichardKrige,a grain
producernearCaledonand
anexecutiveofGrainSA.
Krigesaidsofarthisyear
only104mmofrainfallhad
beenrecorded,comparedwith
a long-termaverageforthe
periodofabout160mm.Hewas
veryconcernedaboutthelack
ofsoilmoistureinthewheat
fields.AccordingtoKrige,it was
thelowestrainfallinyears.
“Ifwedoreceivethenecessary
averagerainfallinAugustand
September,weshouldharvest
a cropof2,5t/ha.However,
thisfiguremaychangeif we
receiveabove-averagerainfall.”
Inadditiontotheunfavourable
weatherconditions,manyfarmers
alsocomplainedaboutcrops
beinginfestedwithpowdery


mildew.Krigesaidhealso
receivedreportsaboutsightings
offalsearmyworm,andurged
farmerstobeonthelookout.
Theoutlookforwheatinsome
areasintheSwartlandwas
positivesofar,thankstoadequate
rain,accordingtoAndréKirsten,
a grainproducernearDarling,
andGrainSA’srepresentativefor
theSwartlandregion.Hesaid
thatthewheatemergencelooked

Globalagricultureproductscompany
CortevaAgrisciencedidnothavea
particularlygoodstartafterbecoming
a standaloneandpublicallytraded
company.Theagriculturedivision
ofDowDuPont,Cortevaformally
achieveditsindependenceon
1 June,butduringitsfirsthalf-year
tradingperiod,thecompanysaw
itsmajorNorthAmericanmarket
experiencingweather-related
delaysinsummergrainandoilseed
plantings,alongwithsmaller-than-
expectedmaize,soyabeanand
canolaplantingsintheregion.
Basedonproformafinancialdata
insteadofactualhistoricaltransactions,
Corteva’sUS$8,952billion(about
R135,26billion)netsalesforthe
firstsixmonthsof 2019 (H12019)
weredown6%comparedwiththe
US$9,525billion(R143,91billion)
innetsalesforthecorresponding
periodlastyear(H12018).

“[Sales]volumesweredown3%,
withgainsinLatinAmerica,Europe,
MiddleEast,Africa(EMEA)and
AsiaPacificmorethanoffsetbythe
declinesinNorthAmerica,”stated
Corteva’slatestfinancialreport.
ThereportaddedthatCorteva’spro
formanetincomefromcontinuing
operationstotalledUS$595million
(R8,989billion)forH12019,down
48%fromtheUS$1,145billion
(R17,3billion)figureofH12018.
Corteva’sproformaoperating
earningsbeforeinterest,tax,
depreciationandamortisationof
US$1,97billion(R29,76billion)forH
2019 were13%downonH12018’s
US$2,273billion(R34,34billion)figure.
Commentingonthecompany’s
H1 2019 activitiesandresults,
Corteva’sCEO,JimCollins,said:
“Inourinitialquarterasa standalone
companywedeliveredtechnology-
driven,organicgrowthinnearlyall

regions,despitecontinuedpressure
fromtheunprecedentedweather
eventsthatchallengednear-term
marketconditionsinNorthAmerica.
“Wearedeliveringonourcost
synergytargets,withanadditional
US$200million[R3,021billion]realised
inthefirsthalf,andwecontinue
todemonstrateourcommitment
tocustomer-centredinnovation
throughtheaccelerationofnew
productlaunchesthatarehelping
toaddressreal-timechallenges
facinggrowersaroundtheworld.”
Corteva’slatestfinancialstatement
saidthatinthecompany’sbriefhistory,
it hadalreadyexperiencedstrong
demandfromLatinAmericaforits
existingcropprotectionproducts,
whiletheEMEAandAsiaPacific
regionshadshownsimilardemandfor
newproducts,suchasCorteva’sIsoclast
insecticide,itsZorvecfungicide,and
itsArylexherbicide.–Staffreporter

Grain


‘September willbea criticalmonthfor grain’


Business

Corteva hasrockystartas‘newkidon theblock’


ABOVE:
Falsearmyworm
hasbeensighted
onfarmsin the
Overbergdistrict.
Carelleroux

18 farmer’sweekly 23 August 2019


favourable, but added that the
potential for the crop varied.
“If we get good rain in August
and September, the wheat in the
southern parts of the Swartland
will produce good harvest
potential. However, the wheat
in the northern region of the
Swartland is not doing so well.”
He stressed that the season
would need “to last longer” since
rainfall started late. “We had
almost no rain during April and
May, and therefore all the crops
in the Swartland are at least
three weeks late,” he explained.
Kirsten also expressed
concern about soil moisture,
saying that recent rainfall kept
the wheat going, but it did not
result in improved soil moisture
conditions. Another concern was
that the recent downpours did not
significantly replenish irrigation
dams, as there was no run-off into
the dams. – Jeandré van der Walt
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