The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

The US drought has benefits for MON (and SYT and DD):

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/18/usa-drought-corn-idUSL1E8KEAX420120918

Plant breeders say final data will be in within the next six weeks as harvest wraps up. But so far, test plot yields and farmer harvest reports are encouraging enough that seed sales for next season should expand dramatically, both in the western corn belt, and into eastern areas of the Midwest, where drought tolerance once was not seen as a big need.

…Monsanto is launching commercial sales of its licensed genetically modified Genuity "DroughtGard" hybrids for the 2013 growing season after testing the corn with 250 farmers this summer. Some farmers were finding a 6 bushel per acre advantage over other hybrids, Monsanto officials said. For Kansas farmer Clay Scott, one of the farmers testing Monsanto's corn, the experimental varieties yielded about 10-15 bushels above the plot average.

See #msg-41324910 for related info.