Monsanto continues to do the right things to extend their lead in the race for market share.

Implications: A couple of dollars per acre might not seem like a lot of money, but on US operations that can cover several thousand acres, it can add up to several thousand dollars per year, and all for buying a product that they have already found to be a good investment for their operations.  So although it seems small, it points out a company that is continuing to do all the right things, to command significant market share in the race to supply seed genetics to agricultural producers.

Analysis: To someone outside the industry, the issue of saving a couple of dollars per acre on crop insurance if a farmer plants Monsanto genetics, might seem insignificant, but US farmers are very good at controlling costs, and the opportunity to save a few thousand dollars per year will be just one more reason for farmers to keep buying more Monsanto seeds.

Of course, performance still is the determining factor in purchase decisions for seed, but Monsanto has been getting good reviews from producers in that area as well.  US farmers are coming off of, what for many was, all-time personal records for both productivity, and for profit, and many will tell you that they believe that the genetics in the seed, very often which came from Monsanto, is one of the prime reasons they were able to achieve record yields.

So, a few dollars an acre may likely be "icing on the cake" for some producers that were already sold on using more genetics from Monsanto.