Buy Agriculture in 2012 AGCO, AGU, POT, CAT

By Shayne Heffernan

AGCO distributes its products through 2,650 independent dealers and distributors in more than 140 countries. In addition, AGCO provides retail financing in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and Austria, through its retail finance joint ventures with Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. (Rabobank).Tractors

AGCO’s compact tractors (under 40 horsepower) are used on small farms and in specialty agricultural industries, such as dairies, landscaping and residential areas. The Company also offers a range of tractors in the utility tractor category (40 to 100 horsepower), including two-wheel and all-wheel drive versions. Its utility tractors are used on small- and medium-sized farms and in specialty agricultural industries, including dairy, livestock, orchards and vineyards. In addition, AGCO offers a range of tractors in the high horsepower segment (primarily 100 to 585 horsepower). High horsepower tractors are used on larger farms and on cattle ranches for hay production. During the year ended December 31, 2010, tractors accounted for approximately 68% of its net sales.

Combines

The Company’s combines are sold with a range of threshing technologies. During 2010, combines accounted for approximately 6% of its net sales. The Company’s 50% investment in Laverda S.p.A. (Laverda), which is an operating joint venture between AGCO and the Italian ARGO group, is located in Breganze, Italy and manufactures harvesting equipment. In addition to producing Laverda branded combines, the Breganze factory manufactures mid-range combine harvesters for its Massey Ferguson, Fendt and Challenger brands for distribution in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Application Equipment

AGCO offers self-propelled, three- and four-wheeled vehicles and related equipment for use in the application of liquid and dry fertilizers and crop protection chemicals. The Company manufactures chemical sprayer equipment for use both prior to planting crops and after crops emerge from the ground. The Company also manufactures related equipment, including vehicles used for waste application that are designed for subsurface liquid injection and surface spreading of biosolids, such as sewage sludge and other farm or industrial waste. During 2010, application equipment accounted for approximately 4% of its net sales.

Hay Tools and Forage Equipment, Implements, Engines and Other Products

AGCO’s hay tools and forage equipment include both round and rectangular balers, self-propelled windrowers, disc mowers, spreaders and mower conditioners and are used for the harvesting and packaging of vegetative feeds used in the beef cattle, dairy, horse and alternative fuel industries. It also distributes a range of implements, planters and other equipment for its product lines. Tractor-pulled implements are used in field preparation and crop management. Implements include disc harrows, which improve field performance by cutting through crop residue, leveling seed beds and mixing chemicals with the soil; heavy tillage, which break up soil and mix crop residue into topsoil, with or without prior discing, and field cultivators, which prepare a smooth seed bed and destroy weeds. Tractor-pulled planters apply fertilizer and place seeds in the field. Other equipment primarily includes loaders, which are used for lifting and transporting hay crops.

The Company provides a range of precision farming technologies that are developed, manufactured and distributed worldwide. AGCO also offers other advanced technology precision farming products that gather information, such as yield data, allowing its customers to produce yield maps for the purpose of maximizing planting and fertilizer applications. Many of the Company’s tractors, combines, planters and sprayers are equipped with these precision farming technologies at the customer’s option. Its AGCO Sisu Power engines division produces diesel engines, gears and generating sets. The diesel engines are manufactured for use in Valtra tractors and certain other branded tractors, combines and sprayers, as well as for sale to third parties. The engine division specializes in the manufacturing of off-road engines in the 50 to 500 horsepower range. During 2010, hay tools and forage equipment, implements, engines and other products accounted for approximately 7% of its net sales.

Replacement Parts

In addition to sales of new equipment, AGCO sells replacement parts for all of the products it sells. During 2010, replacement parts accounted for approximately 15% of the Company’s net sales.

Europe

The Company markets and distributes farm machinery, equipment and replacement parts to farmers in European markets, through a network of approximately 1,100 independent dealers and distributors. AGCO also sells Valtra tractors and parts directly to the end user. Its tractor manufacturing operations in Europe are located in Suolahti, Finland; Beauvais, France, and Marktoberdorf, Germany. During 2010, sales in Europe accounted for approximately 47% of its net sales.

North America

AGCO markets and distributes farm machinery, equipment and replacement parts to farmers in North America, through a network of approximately 950 independent dealers. AGCO’s manufacturing operations in North America are located in Beloit, Kansas; Hesston, Kansas; Jackson, Minnesota, and Queretaro, Mexico. During 2010, sales in North America accounted for approximately 22% of its net sales.

South America

The Company markets and distributes farm machinery, equipment and replacement parts to farmers in South America through different networks. In Brazil and Argentina, AGCO distributes products directly to approximately 325 independent dealers. Outside of Brazil and Argentina, the Company sells its products in South America through independent distributors. The Company’s manufacturing operations in South America are located in Brazil. In Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. During 2010, sales in South America accounted for approximately 25% of its net sales.

Rest of the World

Outside Europe, North America and South America, AGCO operates primarily through a network of approximately 275 independent dealers and distributors, as well as associates and licensees, marketing its products and providing customer service support in approximately 85 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Asia. During 2010, sales outside Europe, North America and South America accounted for approximately 6% of its net sales.

The Company competes with Deere & Company and CNH Global N.V.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	22.02	19.53	14.65	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	28.20	253.42	67.00	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	5.97	12.10	14.30	12.34
Beta	1.78	1.39	1.13	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	0.69	1.93	1.39	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	1.76	2.40	1.05	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	2.57	3.45	1.42	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	14.68	16.89	13.13	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	17.56	25.06	32.69	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	–	1.23	1.34	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	0.00	1.52	1.18	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	–	7.14	9.24	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	0.00	21.55	11.54	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	18.65	19.39	12.10	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	5.83	15.11	7.29	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	4.82	3.35	7.98	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	149.37	195.00	132.48	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	58.23	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	45.70	-5.79	12.77	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	13.58	9.01	15.83	3.53

Agrium Inc (TO:AGU) Fertilizer

Agrium Inc. (Agrium), incorporated on December 21, 1992, is a global producer and marketer of agricultural products. The Company operates through its three business units: Retail, Wholesale and Advanced Technologies (AAT). Retail operates in North and South America and Australia and sells crop nutrients, crop protection products, seed and services directly to growers; Wholesale operates in North and South America and Europe producing, marketing and distributing three primary groups of nutrients, which includes nitrogen, potash and phosphate for agricultural and industrial customers worldwide, and Advanced Technologies produces and markets controlled-release crop nutrients and micronutrients in the broad-based agriculture, specialty agriculture, professional turf, horticulture, and consumer lawn and garden markets worldwide.

Retail

Agrium Retail provides growers with crop input products and services needed for customer’s crop yields. The Company is the agricultural retailer in the United States with approximately 750 retail branches across the country. The Company also operates in Australia and Argentina with its ongoing operations in Uruguay and Chile. Crop protection products include variety of herbicide, fungicide, adjuvant and insecticide products.

The Company is a distributor of crop protection products in the United States. It purchases both brand name and generic products from suppliers. As of December 31, 2010, it markets approximately 200 branded products under the Loveland Products, Inc. (LPI) brand name across approximately 30 countries. The Company owns and operates four blending and formulation facilities in Greeley, Colorado; Billings, Montana; Greenville, Mississippi, and Casilda, Argentina. Agrium’s private label seed products are distributed under the brand name Dyna-Gro. Agrium offers services, such as product application, soil and leaf tissue testing and analysis, as well as crop scouting. Agrium offers services such as product application, soil and leaf tissue testing and analysis, as well as crop scouting.

On December 3, 2010, the Company acquired 100% of AWB Limited (AWB), an agribusiness operating in Australia. AWB is consists of Landmark, the agricultural retailer of crop inputs, and the Commodity Management business. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company acquired additional 40 retail branches. During 2010, the Company acquired 14 retail branches in Western Canada. In June 2010, the Company acquired Agroservicios Pampeanos purchased 24 retail farm centers and one crop protection formulation facility from DuPont in Argentina that raised the number of retail farm centers in South America to 51 facilities. During 2010, Crop Production Services (Canada) purchased another 26 retail branches in Western Canada, most of which are located in Saskatchewan. Crop Production Services (CPS) acquired four retail branches in Texas and Kansas. In November 2010, CPS acquired 19 retail branches and three terminals from Kentucky-based Miles Farm Supply.

Wholesale

Agrium owns and operates five major nitrogen facilities in North America, a 50% joint venture interest in a nitrogen facility in South America, as well as five facilities in North America that upgrade ammonia to other nitrogen products, such as urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) and nitric acid. The Company also owns a 26% equity position in an Egyptian nitrogen plant. On July 1, 2010, Agrium acquired the remaining 30% non-controlling interest in Agrium Europe S.A. Agrium Europe purchases, sells, and distributes approximately 2.5 million metric tons of fertilizer, including sales to cooperatives, merchants and, in some instances, directly to the grower. Egyptian Nitrogen Products Company S.A.E. (ENPC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Misr Fertilizers Production Company S.A.E., in which Agrium owns a 26% stake.

Agrium produces muriate of potash (MOP) at its facility in Vanscoy, Saskatchewan. During December 2010, the Company sold approximately 60% of its sales volumes within North America and exported the other 40% to international markets. At its facility in Conda, Idaho, the Company produces monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and superphosphoric acid (SPA) products, which it primarily sells in the northwestern United States.

Its Redwater, Alberta facility produces MAP primarily for distribution in Western Canada. The Company’s other wholesale product group is mainly consists of ammonium sulfate products produced in Western Canada and in its Rainbow Plant Food (Rainbow) business, which produces NPK products in the south-eastern United states Ammonium sulfate fertilizer contains both nitrogen and sulfur and

Agrium Advanced Technologies

During 2010, the Company began manufacturing its NITROFORM slow-release fertilizer product line at its production facility in Courtright, Ontario. AAT tailors its branded products to specific markets and end use customers. The Company’s agriculture market brands include ESN and UltraYield Micronutrients. Its specialty agriculture market brands include Smart Nutrition, Polyon, Duration and ESN. Its professional turf market it provides branded specialty fertilizer products with slow-release or controlled-release technologies suitable for golf course turf, lawn care and sport field applications, such as XCU, Polyon, Duration, Nutralene, Nitroform and AMP, and associated branded professional products (ProTurf, Nu-Gro, Nu-Spec) in Canada. AAT also markets Precise controlled release plant protection for turf. Horticulture products and blends designed specifically for the nursery market, and markets brands include Polyon, Duration and Nitroform. Its Consumer Lawn and Garden market brands include Polyon, Duration, Nutralene and XCU.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	19.06	17.75	25.63	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	99.72	33.80	84.70	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	4.10	6.14	26.64	12.34
Beta	1.49	1.11	1.21	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	1.32	2.70	2.46	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	2.60	1.93	2.78	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	6.13	2.02	2.91	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	16.15	13.22	23.51	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	85.74	14.40	26.20	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	0.12	1.26	0.99	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	0.19	1.50	1.46	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	0.00	16.40	17.24	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	2.33	10.40	13.60	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	62.69	15.30	41.90	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	15.24	23.59	21.61	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	26.14	14.48	13.61	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	479.65	57.38	85.31	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	98.54	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	17.91	15.50	24.76	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	20.30	22.53	20.20	3.53

The Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Grain Processor

The Andersons, Inc. is an entrepreneurial, customer-focused company with interests in the agriculture and transportation markets. The Company operates in five business segments: Grain & Ethanol, Rail Group, Plant Nutrient Group, Turf & Specialty Group, and Retail Group. In August 2009, the Company completed the acquisition of the assets of the fertilizer division of Hartung Brothers, Inc. (HBI).

The Grain & Ethanol Group purchases and merchandises grain operates grain elevator facilities located in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois and invests in and provides management and corn origination services to ethanol production facilities. The Group also has an investment in Lansing Trade Group LLC, an international trading company focused on the movement of physical commodities, trading in whole and distillers’ dried grains, feed ingredients, biofuels, cotton, freight and other commodities. The Rail Group sells, repairs, reconfigures, manages and leases railcars and locomotives. The Plant Nutrient Group manufactures and sells dry and liquid agricultural nutrients and distributes agricultural inputs (nutrients, chemicals, seed and supplies) to dealers and farmers. The Turf & Specialty Group manufactures turf and ornamental plant fertilizer and control products for lawn and garden use and professional golf and landscaping industries, as well as manufactures corncob-based products for use in various industries. The Retail Group operates retail stores, a specialty food market and a distribution center in Ohio.

Grain &Ethanol Group

The Grain & Ethanol Group operates grain elevators in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. The principal grains sold by the Company are yellow corn, yellow soybeans and soft red and white wheat. In addition to storage and merchandising, the Company performs trading, risk management and other services for its customers. At December 31, 2009, the Company’s grain storage practical capacity was approximately 101 million bushels, which includes grain storage through warehouse and handling agreements and storage that is leased out to two ethanol production facilities. The Company is also the developer and significant investor in three ethanol facilities located in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. In addition to its equity investment, the Company operates the facilities under management contracts, and provides grain origination, ethanol and distillers dried grains (DDG) marketing and risk management services to these joint ventures for which it is compensated separately.

During the year ended December 31, 2009, approximately 87% of the grain bushels sold by the Company were purchased by United States grain processors and feeders, and approximately 13% were exported. Rail shipments are made primarily to grain processors and feeders, with some rail shipments made to exporters on the Gulf of Mexico or east coast. Boat shipments are from the Port of Toledo.

Rail Group

The Company’s Rail Group buys, sells, leases, rebuilds and repairs various types of used railcars and rail equipment. It also provides fleet management services to fleet owners and operates a custom steel fabrication business. At December 31, 2009, of the 23,804 railcars and locomotives managed by the Company, 14,013 units, or 59%, were included on the balance sheet, primarily as long-lived assets. The Company has a diversified fleet of car types (boxcars, gondolas, covered and open top hoppers, tank cars and pressure differential cars) and locomotives serving a diversified customer base. It operates in the used car market – purchasing used cars and repairing and refurbishing them for specific markets and customers.

Plant Nutrient Group

The Company’s Plant Nutrient Group purchases, stores, formulates, manufactures and sells dry and liquid fertilizer to dealers and farmers, provides warehousing and services to manufacturers and customers, formulates liquid anti-icers and deicers for use on roads and runways, and distributes seeds and various farm supplies. It has developed other products for use in industrial applications within the energy and paper industries. The Company’s market area for its plant nutrient wholesale business includes major agricultural states in the Midwest, North Atlantic and South. States with the highest concentration of sales are also the states where the Company’s facilities are located Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

At December 31, 2009, storage capacity at the Company’s fertilizer facilities and farm centers was approximately 15.1 million cubic feet for dry fertilizers and approximately 72.5 million gallons for liquid fertilizer. It reserves 6.8 million cubic feet of its dry storage capacity for various fertilizer manufacturers and customers and 28.5 million gallons of its liquid fertilizer capacity is reserved for manufacturers and customers. The Company also leases 0.8 million gallons of liquid fertilizer capacity under arrangements with various fertilizer dealers and warehouses in locations where the Company does not have facilities.

Turf & Specialty Group

The Turf & Specialty Group produces granular fertilizer products for the professional lawn care and golf course markets. It also produces private label fertilizer and corncob-based animal bedding and cat litter for the consumer markets.

Professional turf products are sold both directly and through distributors to golf courses under The Andersons Golf Products label and lawn service applicators. The Company also sells consumer fertilizer and control products for do-it-yourself application, to mass merchandisers, small independent retailers and other lawn fertilizer manufacturers and performs contract manufacturing of fertilizer and control products.

Retail Group

The Company’s Retail Group includes retail stores operated as The Andersons, which are located in the Columbus and Toledo, Ohio markets and serve urban, suburban and rural customers. The Company also operates a specialty food store operated as The Andersons Market located in the Toledo, Ohio market area. The retail concept is More for Your Home and the stores focus on providing product breadth with offerings in home improvement and other mass merchandise categories, as well as specialty foods, wine and indoor and outdoor garden centers. Each store carries more than 80,000 different items, has 100,000 square feet or more of in-store display space plus 40,000 or more square feet of outdoor garden center space, and features do-it-yourself clinics, special promotions and varying merchandise displays. The specialty food store concept has product offerings with a strong emphasis on freshness, which features product, deli and bakery items, fresh meats, specialty and conventional dry goods and wine. During 2009, the Company closed its Lima, Ohio retail store

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	13.52	5.18	18.81	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	19.32	70.03	1,647.13	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	9.22	14.20	16.08	12.34
Beta	1.48	0.87	0.53	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	0.26	1.11	1.97	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	1.92	0.74	2.73	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	1.93	1.02	9.79	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	8.92	2.77	11.70	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	–	90.04	9.21	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	0.94	1.69	1.87	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	0.86	1.09	1.31	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	16.72	1.79	9.92	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	10.87	5.60	61.62	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	25.98	10.01	7.13	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	12.18	8.56	6.88	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	21.21	15.37	12.05	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	56.69	39.87	25.61	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	66.74	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	15.52	9.45	9.01	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	-14.97	36.83	11.59	3.53

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) Grain Processor

Archer Daniels Midland Company, incorporated in 1923, is principally engaged in procuring, transporting, storing, processing, and merchandising agricultural commodities and products. The Company is a processor of oilseeds, corn, wheat, cocoa, and other agricultural commodities and is a manufacturer of vegetable oil and protein meal, corn sweeteners, flour, biodiesel, ethanol, and other food and feed ingredients. The Company also has a grain elevator and transportation network to procure, store, clean, and transport agricultural commodities, such as oilseeds, corn, wheat, milo, oats, and barley, as well as processed agricultural commodities. The Company’s operations are classified into three business segments: Oilseeds Processing, Corn Processing, and Agricultural Services. In January 2011, the Company acquired Alimenta (USA), Inc., from Alimenta S.A.

Oilseeds Processing

The Oilseeds Processing segment includes activities related to the origination, merchandising, crushing, and further processing of oilseeds, such as soybeans, cottonseed, sunflower seeds, canola, rapeseed, peanuts, flaxseed, and palm into vegetable oils and protein meals. The Oilseeds Processing segment principally produces and markets processed oilseed products as ingredients for the food, feed, energy, and other industrial products industries. Crude vegetable oil is sold as is or is further processed by refining, blending, bleaching, and deodorizing into salad oils. Salad oils are sold as is or are further processed by hydrogenating and/or interesterifying into margarine, shortening, and other food products. Partially refined oil is used to produce biodiesel or is sold to other manufacturers for use in chemicals, paints, and other industrial products. Oilseed protein meals are principally sold to third parties to be used as ingredients in commercial livestock and poultry feeds. The Oilseeds Processing segment also produces natural health and nutrition products and other specialty food and feed ingredients. In North America, cottonseed flour is produced and sold primarily to the pharmaceutical industry and cotton cellulose pulp is manufactured and sold to the chemical, paper, and filter markets. In South America, the Oilseeds Processing segment utilizes a network of grain elevators, port facilities and transportation assets to buy, store, clean, and transport agricultural commodities and operates fertilizer blending facilities.

The Company produces a range of edible soy protein products including soy flour, soy grits, soy protein concentrates and soy isolates that are used in processed meats, baked foods, nutritional products, snacks, and dairy and meat analogs. From co-products of oilseeds, the Company produces natural source vitamin E, tocopherol antioxidants and phytosterols, which are marketed to the dietary supplement and food industry. The Company produces soy isoflavones, a dietary supplement, from a co-product of edible soy processing. Golden Peanut Company LLC, a joint venture between the Company and Alimenta (U.S.A.), Inc., is a supplier of peanuts and peanut derived ingredients to both the domestic and export markets. The Company has a 50% ownership interest in this joint venture. The Company has a 50% interest in Edible Oils Limited, a joint venture between the Company and Princes Foods to procure, package, and sell edible oils in the United Kingdom. The Company recently announced the formation of a new edible oils joint venture with Princes Foods in Poland.

Stratas Foods LLC, a joint venture between the Company and ACH Jupiter, LLC, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, procures, packages, and sells edible oils in North America. The Company has a 50% ownership interest in this joint venture. The Company has a 16.4% ownership interest in Wilmar International Limited (Wilmar), a Singapore publicly listed company. Wilmar is a processor and merchandiser of palm and lauric oils, and a major oil palm plantation owner. The Company is a supplier of agricultural commodity raw materials to Edible Oils Limited, Stratas Foods LLC, and Wilmar.

Corn Processing

The Company’s Corn Processing segment is engaged in corn wet milling and dry milling activities, primarily in the United States, related to its production of ingredients used in the food and beverage industry including syrup, starch, glucose, dextrose, and sweeteners. Dextrose is also used by the Company as a feedstock for its bioproducts operations. Corn gluten feed and meal, as well as distillers grains, is produced for use as animal feed ingredients. Corn germ, a by-product of the wet milling process, is further processed as an oilseed into vegetable oil and protein meal. The Company’s Corn Processing segment is engaged in corn wet milling and dry milling activities, primarily in the United States, related to its production of ingredients used in the food and beverage industry including syrup, starch, glucose, dextrose, and sweeteners. Dextrose is also used by the Company as a feedstock for its bioproducts operations. Corn gluten feed and meal, as well as distillers grains, is produced for use as animal feed ingredients. Corn germ, a by-product of the wet milling process, is further processed as an oilseed into vegetable oil and protein meal.

Almidones Mexicanos S.A., in which the Company has a 50% interest, operates a wet corn milling plant in Mexico. Eaststarch C.V. (Netherlands), in which the Company has a 50% interest, owns interests in companies that operate wet corn milling plants in Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Turkey. The Company has a 50% interest in Telles, LLC (Telles), a joint venture between the Company and Metabolix to market and sell PHA, which is being produced in a facility owned by the Company. Red Star Yeast Company, LLC produces and sells fresh and dry yeast in the United States and Canada. The Company has a 40% ownership interest in this joint venture.

Agricultural Services

The Agricultural Services segment utilizes the Company’s extensive grain elevator and transportation network to buy, store, clean, and transport agricultural commodities, such as oilseeds, corn, wheat, milo, oats, rice, and barley, and resells these commodities primarily as food and feed ingredients and as raw materials for the agricultural processing industry. The Company processes and distributes edible beans in the United States for use as a food ingredient. The Company produces and distributes formula feeds and animal health and nutrition products to the livestock, dairy, poultry, and pet food industries. Alfred C. Toepfer International (Toepfer), in which the Company has an 80% interest, is a global merchandiser of agricultural commodities and processed products. Toepfer has 36 sales offices worldwide and operates inland, river, and export facilities in Argentina, Romania, Ukraine, and the United States. The Company has a 45% interest in Kalama Export Company, a grain export elevator in Washington.

Other

The Company is engaged in milling wheat, corn, and milo into flour in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom. The Company produces bakery products and mixes, wheat starch, and gluten, which are sold to the baking industry. The Company also mills milo to produce industrial flour used in the manufacturing of wallboard for the building industry. Gruma S.A.B. de C.V. (Gruma), in which the Company has a 23.2% interest, is a producer and marketer of corn flour and tortillas with operations in Mexico, the United States, Central America, South America, and Europe. Additionally, the Company has a 20% share, through a joint venture with Gruma, in six United States corn flour mills and one in Italy. The Company also has a 40% share, through a joint venture with Gruma, in nine Mexican wheat flour mills. Hickory Point Bank and Trust Company, fsb, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, furnishes public banking and trust services, as well as cash management, transfer agency, and securities safekeeping services, for the Company.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	11.38	23.90	18.81	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	20.65	6,598.28	1,647.13	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	8.62	17.59	16.08	12.34
Beta	0.24	0.54	0.53	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	0.32	1.39	1.97	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	1.38	6.77	2.73	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	1.44	6.75	9.79	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	7.63	13.58	11.70	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	–	9.84	9.21	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	1.86	1.79	1.87	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	1.50	1.21	1.31	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	12.63	9.46	9.92	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	19.75	28.14	61.62	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	31.53	13.22	7.13	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	10.24	10.98	6.88	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	11.41	10.58	12.05	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	29.91	80.05	25.61	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	73.53	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	13.49	7.95	9.01	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	20.83	13.46	11.59	3.53

Art’s-Way Manu. Corp (NASDAQ:ARTW) Equipment

Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. is a manufacturer of agricultural equipment. Its principal manufacturing plant is located in Armstrong, Iowa. The Company is organized in three business segments: Art’s-Way Manufacturing, Art’s-Way Vessels, Inc. (Art’s-Way Vessels) and Art’s-Way Scientific, Inc. (Art’s-Way Scientific). Art’s-Way Manufacturing manufactures farm equipment under its own and private labels. Art’s-Way Manufacturing has two wholly owned operating subsidiaries. Art’s-Way Vessels manufactures pressure vessels and Art’s-Way Scientific manufactures modular buildings for animal containment and research laboratories.

Art’s-Way Manufacturing

The Company’s Agricultural Products segment manufactures a range of feed processing, hay and forage, tillage and land management and sugar beet harvesting equipment. Its Agricultural Products segment also maintains a volume of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) work for the industry’s manufacturers. Its brand names include Art’s-Way, Miller Pro and Badger. The grinder mixer line represents its original product line. Grinder mixers are used to grind grain and mix in proteins for animal feed. The Company’s PM25 grinder mixer offers a 105-bushel tank with a 20-inch hammermill and it was upgraded to its 5105 grinder mixer model. The Company’s Cattle Maxx rollermill mixer products offer consistent feed grain rations for beef and dairy operations and are available in 105-bushel and 165-bushel capacities.

The Company’s offer stationary hammermills and rollermills. Hammermills are pre-cleaners that are designed to remove appendages, awns and other chaff from seeds by scraping the seed over and through the screen. Its rollermills roll the feed grain to minimize dust and they fracture the outside hull to release the digestive juices more rapidly. The Company’s no-till drills are farm implements designed to plant seed and spread fertilizer in one operation and are used by farmers to plant or improve their pastures. Land planes are used to ensure even distribution of rainfall or irrigation by eliminating water pockets, furrows and implement scars in fields. Its moldboard plows are designed to slice and invert the soil to leave a rough surface exposed, and they are primarily used on clean-tilled cropland with amounts of crop residue.

The Art’s-Way moldboard plows offer conservation tillage choices to match each customer’s preference. Its sugar beet defoliators and harvesters harvest six, eight or 12 rows at one time. Its sugar beet defoliators cut and remove the leaves of the sugar beets without damaging them and the leaf particles are then incorporated back into the soil. The Company offers hay and forage tools for a range of producers. This product line includes forage boxes for transporting hay from the field with optional running gear to provide superior stability and tracking. Forage blowers are able to fill the tallest silos with lower power requirements. V-style and carted finger wheel rakes offer growers value.

Art’s-Way Vessels

The Company builds vessels in carbon steel and stainless steel, ranging from atmospheric (0 Pounds per square inch (PSI)) storage vessels up to any PSI pressure rating required. Its sizes range from 4 inches to 168 inches diameter.

Art’s-Way Scientific

The Company supplies laboratories for bio-containment, animal science, public health and security requirements. It custom designs, manufactures, delivers and installs laboratories and research facilities to meet customers’ critical requirements.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	64.04	19.53	14.65	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	36.37	253.42	67.00	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	8.90	12.10	14.30	12.34
Beta	1.70	1.39	1.13	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	1.23	1.93	1.39	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	2.62	2.40	1.05	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	2.71	3.45	1.42	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	26.93	16.89	13.13	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	–	25.06	32.69	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	0.70	1.23	1.34	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	0.79	1.52	1.18	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	19.14	7.14	9.24	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	44.91	21.55	11.54	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	-16.41	19.39	12.10	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	11.32	15.11	7.29	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	14.64	3.35	7.98	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	-1,501.86	195.00	132.48	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	-32.80	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	1.13	-5.79	12.77	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	59.88	9.01	15.83	3.53

Bunge Ltd (NYSE:BG) Grain Processor

Bunge Limited (Bunge) is a global agribusiness and food company operating in the farm-to-consumer food chain. The Company conducts its business in four divisions: agribusiness, sugar and bioenergy, food and ingredients and fertilizer. The agribusiness segment is involved in the purchase, storage, transport, processing and sale of agricultural commodities and commodity products. The sugar and bioenergy segment produces and sells sugar and ethanol derived from sugarcane, as well as energy derived from sugarcane bagasse, through operations in Brazil. The food and ingredients operations consist of two reportable business segments: edible oil products and milling products. These segments include businesses that produce and sell edible oils, shortenings, margarines, mayonnaise and milled products, such as wheat flours, corn-based products and rice. The fertilizer segment is involved in producing, blending and distributing fertilizer products for the agricultural industry in South America.

Agribusiness

The principal agricultural commodities that the agribusiness segment handles are oilseeds and grains, primarily soybeans, rapeseed or canola, sunflower seed, wheat and corn. It processes oilseeds into vegetable oils and protein meals, principally for the food and animal feed industries. During the year ended December 31, 2010, it acquired five grain elevators in the United States, as well as two oilseed processing facilities in Turkey. The principal purchasers of its oilseeds and grains are animal feed manufacturers and livestock, poultry and aquaculture producers that use these products as animal feed ingredients.

Sugar and Bioenergy

The sugar and bioenergy segment is a producer of sugar and ethanol in Brazil and a global trader and merchandiser of sugar. It wholly owns or has controlling interests in eight sugarcane mills in Brazil, five of which were acquired during 2010. As of December 31, 2010, the Company’s mills had a total crushing capacity of approximately 21 million metric tons per year. It grows and harvests sugarcane, as well as source sugarcane from third parties, which is then processed in its mills to produce sugar, ethanol and electricity. As of December 31, 2010, the overall sugarcane plantations consisted of approximately 157,000 hectares, including both owned and leased land. In February 2010, it acquired a 100% interest in five sugarcane mills that were formerly part of the Moema Group. The acquired sugarcane mills are located in Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais states in Brazil. The products produced consist of ethanol (hydrous and anhydrous), sugar (raw and crystal) and electricity. As of December 31, 2010, the maximum sugar production capacity is 5,750 metric tons per day. As of December 31, 2010, the total installed cogeneration capacity was approximately 144 megawatts, with 51 megawatts available for resale to third parties after supplying the mills’ energy requirements. During 2010, it sold approximately 161,000 megawatt hours to the local electricity market from its co-generation facilities.

Food and Ingredients

The Food and Ingredients segment sells its products to three customer types or market channels: food processors, foodservice companies and retail outlets. The principal raw materials in the food and ingredients division are various crude and further-processed vegetable oils in its edible oil products segment, and corn and wheat in its milling products segment. The edible oil products include packaged and bulk oils, shortenings, margarines, mayonnaise and other products derived from the vegetable oil refining process. It primarily uses soybean, sunflower and rapeseed or canola oil that it produces in oilseed processing operations as raw materials. The Company has edible oil refining and packaging facilities in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Its brands include Soya, Primor, Salada, Andorinha, Cocinero, Delicia, Elite and Bunge Pro.

The milling products include a variety of wheat flours and bakery mixes in Brazil and corn-based products derived from the corn dry milling process in North America. Its brands include Primor, Suprema and Lyra wheat flours and Gradina, Bentamix and Pre-Mescla bakery premixes. Its corn milling products consist primarily of dry milled corn meals, flours and grits (including flaking and brewer’s grits), as well as soy-fortified corn meal, corn-soy blend and other similar products. It also produces corn oil and corn animal feed products. During 2010, it acquired Pacific International Rice Mills. The Company also sells branded rice in Brazil under the Primor brand. In Brazil, the primary customers for its wheat milling products are industrial, bakery and foodservice companies. In North America, the primary customers for its corn milling products are companies in the food processing sector, such as cereal, snack, bakery and brewing companies, as well as the United States government for humanitarian relief programs. Corn oil and animal feed products are sold to edible oil processors and animal feed manufacturers and users, respectively.

Fertilizer

The Fertilizer segment is a blender and distributor of crop fertilizers to farmers in South America, producing and marketing a range of solid and liquid NPK fertilizer formulations. NPK refers to nitrogen (N), phosphate (P) and potash (K), the main components of chemical fertilizers. In Brazil, it blends and distributes NPK fertilizers. In Argentina, it produces, blends and distributes, including liquid and solid nitrogen fertilizers. In North America, it distributes NPK fertilizer products that it sources from third-party producers as a wholesaler to other wholesale distributors, retailers and cooperatives. It also has a 50% interest in a joint venture with Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP), to produce fertilizer products in Morocco.

In the fertilizer operations the Company produces, blends and distributes NPK formulations primarily to farmers in Brazil, Argentina and neighboring countries, as well as cooperatives and retailers. These NPK fertilizers are used for the cultivation of a variety of crops, including soybeans, corn, sugarcane, cotton, wheat and coffee. In Brazil, it markets its retail fertilizers under the IAP, Manah, Ouro Verde and Serrana brands. In Argentina, it markets fertilizers under the Bunge brand, as well as the Solmix brand. Also in Argentina, it produces SSP, as well as ammonia, urea and liquid fertilizers.

The Company competes with Heringer, Fertipar, The Mosaic Company, Yara International, Repsol YPF, Profertil S.A., Pena Branca Alimentos, M. Dias Branco, Moinho Pacifico, Moinho Anaconda, Cargill Incorporated (Cargill), Didion Milling Company, SEMO Milling, LLC, Life Line Foods, LLC, The Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM), Associated British Foods plc, Stratas Foods, Unilever, Ventura Foods, LLC, Brasil Foods S.A., British Sugar PLC, Sudzucker AG, Tereos Group, Sucden Group, ED&F Man, Noble Group Limited, Cosan Limited, Sao Martinho S.A., LDC-SEV Bioenergia, Louis Dreyfus Group and Wilmar International Limited.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	4.80	23.90	18.81	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	28.80	6,598.28	1,647.13	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	4.48	17.59	16.08	12.34
Beta	1.18	0.54	0.53	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	0.23	1.39	1.97	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	0.90	6.77	2.73	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	0.93	6.75	9.79	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	3.79	13.58	11.70	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	–	9.84	9.21	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	1.30	1.79	1.87	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	1.01	1.21	1.31	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	9.95	9.46	9.92	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	5.42	28.14	61.62	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	21.94	13.22	7.13	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	9.02	10.98	6.88	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	13.40	10.58	12.05	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	1,005.76	80.05	25.61	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	664.78	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	27.02	7.95	9.01	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	15.48	13.46	11.59	3.53

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Equipment

Caterpillar Inc. (Caterpillar) is engaged in the manufacturing of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Caterpillar operates in three principal lines of business: Machinery, Engines and Financial products. Machinery line of business includes the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of construction, mining and forestry machinery. Engines line of business includes designs, manufactures, marketing and sales of engines for Caterpillar machinery; electric power generation systems, and marine, petroleum, construction, industrial, agricultural and other applications and related parts. Financial Products principal line of business consists of Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation (Cat Financial), Caterpillar Insurance Holdings, Inc. (Cat Insurance) and their respective subsidiaries. During the year ended August 31, 2010, Caterpillar acquired Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. (EMD), a manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives.

Machinery

Caterpillar’s Machinery line of business includes track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment and related parts. Caterpillar’s logistics business provides integrated supply chain services for Caterpillar and approximately 50 customers. Caterpillar also provides rail-related products and services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Progress Rail. Progress Rail is a provider of a range of products and services to the railroad industry, including new and remanufactured locomotives, railcar and track products and design and maintenance services. In addition, this line of business also includes EMD.

The Company competes with Komatsu Ltd., Volvo Group AB, CNH Global N.V., Deere & Co., Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., J.C.Bamford Ltd., Doosan Infracore Co., Ltd., LiuGong Construction Machinery N.A., LLC., DHL International, CEVA Logistics, Kuehne + Nagel Inc., GE Transportation, Bombardier, Siemens and VAE Nortrak North America, Inc.

Engines

Caterpillar provides industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas and power generation applications. The Company also includes remanufacturing of Caterpillar engines and a variety of Caterpillar machine and engine components and remanufacturing services for other companies. Reciprocating engines meet power needs ranging from 10 to 21,700 horsepower (8 to over 16,000 kilowatts). The turbines range from 1,600 to 30,000 horsepower (1,200 to 22,000 kilowatts).

The Company competes with Cummins Inc., Tognum AG, GE Energy Infrastructure, Siemens Energy, Wartsila Corp, John Deere Power Systems, MAN Diesel SE, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Volvo Group AB, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Rolls Royce Group plc, Generac Power Systems, Inc. and Kohler Co.

Financial Products

Caterpillar’s Financial products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar products to customers and dealers. Retail financing consists of financing of Caterpillar equipment, machinery and engines. Cat Financial also provides financing for vehicles, power generation facilities and marine vessels that, in most cases, incorporate Caterpillar products. In addition to retail financing, Cat Financial provides wholesale financing to Caterpillar dealers and purchases short-term dealer receivables from Caterpillar and its subsidiaries. Cat Financials operates in North America, Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America.

Cat Insurance provides various forms of insurance to customers and dealers to help support the purchase and lease of its equipment. The Company’s wholly owned Subsidiaries Caterpillar Insurance Company, which is licensed to conduct property and casualty insurance business in 50 states and the District of Columbia; Caterpillar Life Insurance Company, which is licensed to conduct life and accident and health insurance business in 26 states and the District of Columbia; Caterpillar Insurance Co. Ltd. is a captive insurance company, which is a Class 2 insurer; Caterpillar Product Services Corporation is a warranty company, which conducts a machine extended service contract program in Germany and France, and Caterpillar Insurance Services Corporation is a insurance brokerage company licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and it provides brokerage services for all property and casualty and life and health lines of business.

The Company competes with Wells Fargo Equipment Finance Inc., General Electric Capital Corporation, Volvo Financial Services, Komatsu Financial L.P. and John Deere Capital Corporation.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	25.11	19.53	14.65	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	39.86	253.42	67.00	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	7.89	12.10	14.30	12.34
Beta	1.72	1.39	1.13	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	1.57	1.93	1.39	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	6.13	2.40	1.05	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	9.05	3.45	1.42	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	13.24	16.89	13.13	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	50.03	25.06	32.69	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	1.69	1.23	1.34	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	2.30	1.52	1.18	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	12.63	7.14	9.24	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	40.85	21.55	11.54	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	62.15	19.39	12.10	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	31.46	15.11	7.29	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	3.22	3.35	7.98	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	305.92	195.00	132.48	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	193.50	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	0.53	-5.79	12.77	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	1.38	9.01	15.83	3.53

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) Fertilizer

CNH Global (NYSE:CNH) Equipment

Corn Products Intl (NYSE:CPO) Grain Processor

Corn Products International, Inc. (Corn Products), incorporated in 1997, manufactures and sells a number of ingredients to a variety of food and industrial customers. The Company is a corn refiner and a supplier of food ingredients and industrial products derived from wet milling and processing of corn and other starch-based materials. Its products are derived primarily from the processing of corn and other starch-based materials, such as tapioca. Corn Products sweetener products include high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), glucose corn syrups, high maltose corn syrups, caramel color, dextrose, polyols, maltodextrins and glucose and corn syrup solids. Its starch-based products include industrial and food-grade starches. Corn Products supplies a range of customers in industries, including the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, paper products, corrugated, laminated paper, textile and brewing industries, as well as the animal feed and corn oil markets. In October 2010, the Company acquired National Starch, the specialty starches business of AkzoNobel N.V.

Sweetener Products

During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company’s sweetener products represented approximately 56% of the Company’s net sales. The Company primarily produces two types of high fructose corn syrup: HFCS-55, which is used as a sweetener in soft drinks and HFCS-42, which is used as a sweetener in a number consumer products, such as fruit-flavored beverages, yeast-raised breads, rolls, dough, ready-to-eat cakes, yogurt and ice cream. Corn syrups are ingredients used in food products, such as baked goods, snack foods, beverages, canned fruits, condiments, candy and other sweets, dairy products, ice cream, jams and jellies, prepared mixes and table syrups. The Company offers corn syrups that are manufactured through an ion exchange process.

The Company offers high maltose corn syrup, which are used in the production of confections, canning and some other food processing applications. As of December 31, 2009, it produced dextrose products that are grouped in three categories: monohydrate, anhydrous and specialty. Monohydrate dextrose is used across the food industry in many of the same products as glucose corn syrups, especially in confectionery applications. Anhydrous dextrose is used to make solutions for intravenous injection and other pharmaceutical applications, as well as some specialty food applications. Specialty dextrose products are used in a range of applications, including confectionery tableting, dry mixes and for sweeteners. Dextrose also has a range of industrial applications, including use in wall board and production of biodegradable surfactants (surface agents), humectants (moisture agents), and as the base for fermentation products, including vitamins, organic acids, amino acids and alcohol.

The Company’s polyols are sugar-free sweeteners primarily derived from starch. They include crystalline sorbitol, crystalline maltitol, mannitol, specialty liquid polyols and liquid sorbitol for the food, beverage, confectionary, industrial, personal and oral care, and nutritional supplement markets. Its maltodextrins and glucose and corn syrup solid products are used in food applications, including formulations where liquid corn syrups cannot be used.

Starch Products

The Company’s starch products represented approximately 23% of the Company’s net sales in 2009. Starches are used in a range of processed foods, where they are used particularly as a thickener and binder. Cornstarch is also sold to cornstarch packers for sale to consumers. Starches are also used in paper production. In the corrugating industry, starches are used to produce adhesives for the production of shipping containers, display board and other corrugated applications. Industrial starches are used in the production of construction materials, textiles, adhesives, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, as well as in mining, water filtration and oil and gas drilling.

Co-Products and others

Its co-products and others accounted for 21% of the Company’s net sales in 2009. Refined corn oil (from germ) is sold to packers of cooking oil and to producers of margarine, salad dressings, shortening, mayonnaise and other foods. Corn gluten feed is sold as animal feed. Corn gluten meal is sold as feed for chickens, pet food and aquaculture primarily, and steepwater is sold as an additive for animal feed.

The Company competes with Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Cargill, Inc., Tate & Lyle Ingredients Americas, Inc., National Starch and Chemical Company and ALMEX.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	23.27	23.90	18.81	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	53.83	6,598.28	1,647.13	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	8.20	17.59	16.08	12.34
Beta	1.18	0.54	0.53	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	0.89	1.39	1.97	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	1.97	6.77	2.73	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	4.00	6.75	9.79	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	11.79	13.58	11.70	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	20.54	9.84	9.21	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	1.09	1.79	1.87	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	1.36	1.21	1.31	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	14.87	9.46	9.92	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	24.85	28.14	61.62	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	46.78	13.22	7.13	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	18.93	10.98	6.88	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	13.10	10.58	12.05	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	-9.97	80.05	25.61	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	315.99	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	13.07	7.95	9.01	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	2.14	13.46	11.59	3.53

Deere & Co (NYSE:DE) Equipment

Deere & Company, together with its subsidiaries (John Deere), incorporated in 1958, operates in three business segments: agriculture and turf, construction and forestry and credit. The agriculture and turf segment manufactures and distributes a line of farm and turf equipment and related service parts including large, medium and utility tractors; loaders; combines, cotton and sugarcane harvesters and related front-end equipment and sugarcane loaders; tillage, seeding and application equipment. The construction and forestry segment manufactures, distributes to dealers and sells at retail a range of machines and service parts used in construction, earthmoving, material handling and timber harvesting. The credit segment primarily finances sales and leases by John Deere dealers of new and used agriculture and turf equipment and construction and forestry equipment.

Agriculture and Turf

The John Deere agriculture and turf segment manufactures and distributes a full line of agricultural and turf equipment and related service parts. Its equipment operations are consolidated into five product platforms: crop harvesting (combines, cotton and sugarcane harvesters and related front-end equipment and sugarcane loaders); turf and utility (utility vehicles, riding lawn equipment, walk behind mowers, commercial mowing equipment, golf course equipment, implements for mowing, tilling, snow and debris handling, aerating and many other residential, commercial, golf and sports turf care applications, and other outdoor power products); hay and forage (self-propelled forage harvesters and attachments, balers and mowers); crop care (tillage, seeding and application equipment, including sprayers, nutrient management and soil preparation machinery), and tractors (loaders and large, medium and utility tractors). John Deere also purchases certain products from other manufacturers for resale. Additionally, the segment offers ancillary products and services supporting its agricultural and turf equipment customers. John Deere Landscapes, a unit of the segment, distributes irrigation equipment, nursery products and landscape supplies, including seed, fertilizer and hardscape materials, primarily to landscape service professionals. John Deere Water, also a unit of the agriculture and turf segment, manufactures and distributes precision agricultural irrigation equipment and supplies.

The segment also provides integrated agricultural business and equipment management systems. John Deere has developed a comprehensive agricultural management systems approach using advanced communications, data collection and global satellite positioning technologies to enable farmers to better control input costs and yields, improve soil conservation and minimize chemical use and to gather information. In addition to the John Deere brand, the agriculture and turf segment manufactures and sells a variety of equipment attachments under the Frontier brand name, walk-behind mowers and scarifiers in Europe under the SABO brand name, and tractors in China under the Benye brand name. John Deere manufactures its agricultural and turf equipment for sale primarily through independent retail dealer networks, and also builds products for sale by mass retailers, including The Home Depot and Lowe’s.

Construction and Forestry

John Deere construction, earthmoving, material handling and forestry equipment includes a broad range of backhoe loaders, crawler dozers and loaders, four-wheel-drive loaders, excavators, motor graders, articulated dump trucks, landscape loaders, skid-steer loaders, log skidders, log feller bunchers, log loaders, log forwarders, log harvesters and a variety of attachments. The segment’s forestry machines are distributed under the John Deere brand name and forestry attachments are distributed under the John Deere and Waratah brand names. In addition to the equipment manufactured by the construction and forestry segment, John Deere purchases certain products from other manufacturers for resale. The segment also provides comprehensive fleet management telematics solutions.

John Deere and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. (Hitachi) have a joint venture for the manufacture of hydraulic excavators and track log loaders in the United States and Canada. John Deere distributes Hitachi brands of construction and mining equipment in North, Central and South America. John Deere also has supply agreements with Hitachi under which a range of construction, earthmoving, material handling and forestry products manufactured by John Deere in the United States Finland and New Zealand are distributed by Hitachi in certain Asian markets. John Deere also owns Nortrax, Inc. and Nortrax Canada Inc. (collectively called Nortrax). Nortrax is an authorized John Deere dealer for construction, earthmoving, material handling and forestry equipment in a variety of markets in the United States and Canada. John Deere also owns retail forestry sales operations in Australia, Brazil, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Credit Operations

The Company’s credit segment (collectively referred to as the Credit Companies) primarily provide and administer financing for retail purchases from John Deere dealers of new equipment manufactured by the Company’s agriculture and turf and construction and forestry divisions and used equipment taken in trade for this equipment. In the United States certain subsidiaries included in the credit segment also offer crop risk mitigation products. The Company and John Deere Construction & Forestry Company are referred to as the sales companies. John Deere Capital Corporation (Capital Corporation), a United States credit subsidiary, generally purchases retail installment sales and loan contracts (retail notes) from the sales companies. These retail notes are acquired by the sales companies through John Deere retail dealers in the United States. John Deere Credit Inc., a Canadian credit subsidiary, purchases and finances retail notes acquired by John Deere Limited, the Company’s Canadian sales branch. The terms of retail notes and the basis on which the Credit Companies acquire retail notes from the sales companies are governed by agreements with the sales companies.

The Credit Companies also finance and service revolving charge accounts, in most cases acquired from and offered through merchants in the agriculture and turf and construction and forestry markets (revolving charge accounts). Further, the Credit Companies finance and service operating loans, in most cases offered through and acquired from farm input providers or through direct relationships with agricultural producers or agribusinesses (operating loans). Additionally, the Credit Companies provide wholesale financing for inventories of John Deere agriculture and turf equipment and construction and forestry equipment owned by dealers of those products (wholesale notes). The various financing options offered by the Credit Companies are designed to enhance sales of John Deere products and generate financing income for the Credit Companies.

The Credit Companies offer retail leases to equipment users in the United States. A small number of leases are executed with units of local government. Leases are usually written for periods of 2 to 5 years, and typically contain an option permitting the customer to purchase the equipment at the end of the lease term. Retail leases are also offered in a generally similar manner to customers in Canada through John Deere Credit Inc. and John Deere Limited. The Credit Companies also offer financing, primarily for John Deere products, in Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and in several countries in Europe and in Latin America. In certain areas, financing is offered through cooperation agreements or joint ventures. Financing outside of the United States and Canada is affected by a variety of customs and regulations. The Credit Companies also offer to select incorporatedcustomers and dealers credit enhanced international export financing for the purchase of John Deere products.

The Company competes with AGCO Corporation, CNH Global N.V., Kubota Tractor Corporation, The Toro Company, Caterpillar Inc., Komatsu Ltd., Volvo Group AB, CNH Global N.V., Tigercat Industries Inc. and Ponsse Plc.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	18.38	19.53	14.65	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	22.13	253.42	67.00	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	8.20	12.10	14.30	12.34
Beta	1.52	1.39	1.13	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	1.41	1.93	1.39	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	5.86	2.40	1.05	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	7.07	3.45	1.42	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	12.78	16.89	13.13	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	97.79	25.06	32.69	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	1.53	1.23	1.34	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	1.79	1.52	1.18	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	13.90	7.14	9.24	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	24.42	21.55	11.54	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	26.57	19.39	12.10	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	19.68	15.11	7.29	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	4.18	3.35	7.98	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	111.27	195.00	132.48	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	131.98	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	8.68	-5.79	12.77	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	8.24	9.01	15.83	3.53

Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW) Crop Protection

Du Point (NYSE:DD) Crop Protection

FMC Corp (NYSE:FMC) Crop Protection

FMC Corporation (FMC), incorporated in 1928, is a diversified chemical company. FMC serves agricultural, consumer and industrial markets with solutions, applications and products. The Company operates in three business segments: Agricultural Products, Specialty Chemicals and Industrial Chemicals. Its Agricultural Products segment develops, markets and sells all three major classes of crop protection chemicals, such as insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, with particular strength in insecticides and herbicides. Specialty Chemicals consists of its BioPolymer and lithium businesses and focuses on food ingredients that are used to enhance texture, structure and physical stability, pharmaceutical additives for binding, encapsulation and disintegrant applications, ultrapure biopolymers for medical devices, and lithium for energy storage, specialty polymers and pharmaceutical synthesis. Its Industrial Chemicals segment manufactures a range of inorganic materials, including soda ash, hydrogen peroxide, specialty peroxygens, zeolites and silicates.

Agricultural Products

During the year ended December 31, 2010, FMC’s Agricultural Products segment represented approximately 40% of its consolidated revenues. Agricultural Products segment develops, manufactures and sells a portfolio of crop protection, professional pest control and lawn and garden products. Agricultural Products include insecticides, used for protection of crops, including cotton, sugarcane, rice, corn, soybeans, cereals, fruits and vegetables from insects and for non-agricultural applications, including pest control for home, garden and other specialty markets; herbicides, used for protection of crops, including cotton, sugarcane, rice, corn, soybeans, cereals, fruits and vegetables from weed growth and for non-agricultural applications, including turf and roadsides, and fungicides, used for protection of crops, including fruits, vegetables and tobacco from fungal disease. The Company accesses Western European markets through a Belgian-based pesticide distribution company, Belchim Crop Protection N.V. It also has joint venture arrangements with Nufarm Limited in three countries in Eastern Europe.

Specialty Chemicals

During 2010, FMC’s Specialty Chemicals segment represented 26% of its consolidated revenues. The majority of Specialty Chemicals sales are to customers in non-cyclical end markets. Specialty Chemicals products include microcrystalline cellulose, used for drug dry tablet binder and disintegrant, food ingredient; carrageenan, used for food ingredient for thickening and stabilizing, encapsulants for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical; alginates, used for food ingredients, pharmaceutical excipient, healthcare and industrial uses, and Lithium, used for batteries, polymers, pharmaceuticals, greases and lubricants, air conditioning, and other industrial uses.

BioPolymer is organized around the food, pharmaceutical and biomedical device markets, and is a supplier to many companies in these markets. BioPolymer is a supplier of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), carrageenan and alginates, ingredients that have applications in the production of food, pharmaceutical and other specialty consumer and industrial products. MCC, processed from specialty grades of both hardwood pulp and softwood pulp, provides binding and disintegrant properties for dry tablets and capsules. Carrageenan and alginates, both processed from seaweed, are used in a variety of food, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and biopharmaceutical applications, which provides alginate and carrageenan-based encapsulant technologies for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical uses. In the Novamatrix business, the Company is developing technology platforms within biomedical markets which develop and provide ultrapure biopolymers and application know-how for biomedical devices.

Lithium is a vertically integrated technology business, based on both inorganic and organic lithium chemistries. While lithium is sold into a variety of end-markets, the Company focused on energy storage, specialty polymers and pharmaceuticals. Lithium is developed as the enabling element in advanced batteries for use in hybrid electric, plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles. Organolithium products are sold to fine chemical and pharmaceutical customers who use lithium’s chemical properties to synthesize products. Organolithiums are also valued in the specialty polymer markets as initiators in the production of synthetic rubbers and elastomers.

Industrial Chemicals

During 2010, FMC’s Industrial Chemicals segment represented 34% of its consolidated revenues. Industrial Chemicals product include soda ash, used for glass, chemicals, detergents; peroxygens, used for pulp and paper, chemical processing, detergents, antimicrobial disinfectants, environmental applications, electronics and polymers, and zeolites and silicates, used for detergents, car tires, pulp and paper. Industrial Chemicals serves a diverse group of markets, from industrial sectors to specialty markets. It processes and sells refined inorganic products in markets, such as glass, detergents and pulp and paper. In addition, it produces, purifies and markets downstream derivatives into customer-specific applications. These applications include electronics, biocides and animal nutrition.

The Company’s alkali chemical division produces natural soda ash. Soda ash is used by manufacturers in glass, chemical processing and detergent industries. FMC also produces sodium bicarbonate, caustic soda and sodium sesquicarbonate. The Company’s alkali sales are manufactured by and sold through its subsidiary, FMC Wyoming Corporation. The Company produces hydrogen peroxide at production facilities in the United States and Canada, and through its wholly owned Foret subsidiary, in Spain and the Netherlands. FMC sells hydrogen peroxide into the pulp and paper industry, chemical processing, environmental, electronics and food industries. FMC’s specialty peroxygens business supplies persulfate products primarily to polymer, printed circuit board, hair care and soil remediation markets. Peracetic acid is supplied to the food industry for biocidal applications.

The Company competes with J. Rettenmaier & Sohne GmbH, Ming Tai Chemical Co., Ltd., Asahi Kasei Corporation, Blanver Farmoquimica Ltda, Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd., Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited, Nufarm Limited, Arysta LifeScience Corporation, United Phosphorous Limited and Cheminova A/S.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	30.36	10.20	25.63	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	28.47	44.26	84.70	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	10.34	11.07	26.64	12.34
Beta	1.01	1.38	1.21	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	1.94	0.81	2.46	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	5.35	1.06	2.78	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	6.46	2.25	2.91	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	17.21	7.47	23.51	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	34.46	9.74	26.20	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	0.71	1.93	0.99	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	0.82	2.18	1.46	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	–	6.57	17.24	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	17.75	15.83	13.60	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	12.24	20.23	41.90	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	10.26	6.80	21.61	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	7.75	9.80	13.61	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	-171.03	100.26	85.31	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	-16.76	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	15.20	-2.90	24.76	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	8.76	11.70	20.20	3.53

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) Fertilizer

Kubota Corp (NYSE:KUB) Equipment

Lindsay Crop (NYSE:LNN) Equipment

Lindsay Corporation (Lindsay) is a designer and manufacturer of self-propelled center pivot and lateral move irrigation systems, which are used in the agricultural industry to increase or stabilize crop production, while conserving water, energy, and labor. The Company also manufactures and markets various infrastructure products, including moveable barriers for traffic lane management, crash cushions, road marking and other road safety devices. In addition, the Company’s infrastructure segment produces large diameter steel tubing and railroad signals and structures, and provides outsourced manufacturing and production services for other companies. On August 31, 2010, the Company acquired Digitec, Inc. (Digitec).

The Company’s principal irrigation manufacturing facility is located in Lindsay, Nebraska, the United States. The Company also has international sales and irrigation production facilities in France, Brazil, South Africa and China, which provides it with bases of operations in international markets. Lindsay Europe SAS manufactures and markets irrigation equipment for the European market. Lindsay America do Sul Ltda. manufactures and markets irrigation equipment for the South American market. Lindsay Manufacturing Africa, (PTY) Ltd. manufactures and markets irrigation equipment for the sub-Saharan Africa market. Lindsay (Tianjin) Industry Co., Ltd. manufactures and markets irrigation equipment for the Chinese market.

Lindsay has three additional irrigation operating subsidiaries. Irrigation Specialists, Inc. (Irrigation Specialists) is a retail irrigation dealership based in Washington State that operates at three locations. Irrigation Specialists provides a strategic distribution channel in a regional irrigation market. Lindsay Transportation, Inc. (LTI) primarily brokers delivery of irrigation equipment in the United States. Digitec is an electronics research, development and manufacturing company. Barrier Systems, Inc. (BSI) manufactures moveable barrier products, specialty barriers and crash cushions. Snoline S.P.A. (Snoline) is engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of road marking and safety equipment for use on roadways.

Irrigation Segment

The Company markets its center pivot and lateral move irrigation systems in the United States and internationally under its Zimmatic brand. The Company also manufactures and markets separate lines of center pivot and lateral move irrigation equipment for use on smaller fields under its Greenfield and Stettyn brands, and hose reel travelers under the Perrot brand (Greenfield in the United States, Perrot in Europe, and Stettyn in South Africa). The Company also produces or markets irrigation controls, chemical injection systems and remote monitoring and control systems, which it sells under its GrowSmart brand. In addition to whole systems, the Company manufactures and markets repair and replacement parts for its irrigation systems and controls. The Company also designs, manufactures and services water pumping stations and controls for the agriculture, golf, landscape and municipal markets.

The Company’s irrigation systems are primarily of the standard sized center pivot type, with a small portion of its products consisting of the lateral move type. Both are automatic, continuous move systems consisting of sprinklers mounted on a water carrying pipeline, which is supported approximately 11 feet off the ground by a truss system suspended between moving towers. The Company also manufactures and distributes mini-pivots and hose reel travelers. The Company also markets pivot monitoring and control systems, which include remote telemetry and a Web or personal computer hosted data acquisition and monitoring application. The pivot monitoring and control systems are marketed under the GrowSmart brand and product name FieldNET. In the United States, the Company sells its branded irrigation systems, including Zimmatic, to over 200 independent dealer locations, who resell to their customer, the farmer.

The Company has production and sales operations in France, Brazil, South Africa and China, as well as sales operations in Australia, New Zealand, Central America and the Middle East serving the European, South American, African, Chinese, Australian/New Zealand, Central American and Middle Eastern markets, respectively. The Company also exports some of its equipment from the United States to other international markets. The majority of the Company’s United States export sales is denominated in the United States dollars and is shipped against prepayments or the United States bank confirmed irrevocable letters of credit or other secured means.

Infrastructure Segment

The Company’s Quickchange Moveable Barrier (QMB) system is composed of three parts: T-shaped concrete barriers that are connected to form a continuous wall; a Barrier Transfer Machine (BTM) capable of moving the barrier laterally across the pavement, and the variable length barriers necessary for accommodating curves. A barrier element is approximately 32 inches high, 13-24 inches wide, three feet long and weighs 1,500 pounds. The barrier elements are interconnected by very heavy duty steel hinges to form a continuous barrier. The BTM employs an inverted S-shaped conveyor mechanism that lifts the barrier, moving it laterally before setting it back on the roadway surface. The QMB system is used in busy commuter corridors and at choke points, such as bridges and tunnels. QMB systems can also be deployed at roadway or roadside construction sites to accelerate construction, improve traffic flow and safeguard work crews and motorists by positively separating the work area and traffic.

The Company offers a variety of equipment lease options for QMB systems and BTM equipment used in construction applications. The leases extend for periods of three months or more for equipment already existing in inventory. BSI and Snoline offer a complete line of redirective and non-redirective crash cushions, which are used to improve highway safety at locations, such as toll booths, freeway off-ramps, medians and roadside barrier ends, bridge supports, utility poles and other fixed roadway hazards. The Company’s primary crash cushion products cover a range of lengths, widths, speed capacities and application accessories and include the brand, such as TAU, Universal TAU-II, TAU-B_NR, ABSORB 350 and Walt. In addition to these products, the Company also offers guardrail end terminal products, such as the X-Tension and TESI systems. BSI and Snoline also offer specialty barrier products, such as the SAB, ArmorGuard, PaveGuard and DR46 portable barrier and/or barrier gate systems.

Snoline offers preformed tape and a line of road safety accessory products. The preformed tape is used primarily in temporary applications, such as markings for work zones, street crossings and road center lines or boundaries. The road safety equipment consists of mostly plastic and rubber products used for delineation, slowing traffic and signaling. The Company’s Diversified Manufacturing and Tubing business unit (Diversified Manufacturing) manufactures and markets large diameter steel tubing and railroad signals and structures, and provides outsourced manufacturing and production services for other companies. The Company’s customer base includes certain industrial companies and railroads. BSI’s and Snoline’s primary market includes moveable concrete barriers, delineation systems, guardrails and similar protective equipment.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	32.07	19.53	14.65	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	37.42	253.42	67.00	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	18.66	12.10	14.30	12.34
Beta	1.48	1.39	1.13	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	2.23	1.93	1.39	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	3.57	2.40	1.05	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	4.61	3.45	1.42	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	22.69	16.89	13.13	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	206.53	25.06	32.69	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	0.48	1.23	1.34	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	0.63	1.52	1.18	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	8.61	7.14	9.24	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	15.30	21.55	11.54	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	41.05	19.39	12.10	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	20.50	15.11	7.29	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	15.12	3.35	7.98	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	87.86	195.00	132.48	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	37.68	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	36.96	-5.79	12.77	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	7.01	9.01	15.83	3.53

Monsanto (NYSE:MON) Seed & Genetics

Monsanto Company (Monsanto), incorporated on February 9, 2000, along with its subsidiaries, is a provider of agricultural products for farmers. The Company’s seeds, biotechnology trait products, and herbicides provide farmers with solutions that improve productivity, reduce the costs of farming, and produce better foods for consumers and better feed for animals. It manages business in two segments: Seeds and Genomics, and Agricultural Productivity. In April 2010, the Company completed the acquisition of a corn and soybean processing plant located in Paine, Chile from Anasac, a company that provides seed processing services. In October 2009, the Company completed the acquisition of Seminium, S.A. (Seminium), a corn seed company. In February 2011, the Company acquired Divergence, Inc.

Seeds and Genomics Segment

Through the Company’s Seeds and Genomics segment, it produces seed brands, including DEKALB, Asgrow, Deltapine, Seminis and De Ruiter, and it develops biotechnology traits that assist farmers in controlling insects and weeds. It also provides other seed companies with genetic material and biotechnology traits for their seed brands. It has a global distribution and sales and marketing organization for its seeds and traits. It sells products under Monsanto brands and license technology and genetic material to others for sale under their own brands. Through distributors, independent retailers and dealers, agricultural cooperatives, plant raisers, and agents, it markets DEKALB, Asgrow and Deltapine branded germplasm to farmers globally. In the United States, it markets regional seed brands under its American Seeds, LLC and Channel Bio, LLC businesses to farmers directly, as well as through dealers, agricultural cooperatives and agents. It markets and sells trait technologies with branded germplasm, pursuant to license agreements with its farmer customers. In Brazil and Paraguay, its has implemented a point-of-delivery, grain-based payment system. It contracts with grain handlers to collect applicable trait fees when farmers deliver their grain. In addition to selling its products under its own brands, the Company licenses a range of germplasm and trait technologies to large and small seed companies in the United States and certain international markets. Those seed companies in turn market its trait technologies in their branded germplasm; they may also market its germplasm under its own brand name. Its vegetable seeds are marketed in more than 100 countries through distributors, independent retailers and dealers, agricultural cooperatives, plant raisers and agents, as well as directly to farmers.

The Company’s row crop seeds brands include DEKALB, Channel Bio, Asgrow and Deltapine. Its DEKALB and Channel Bio are corn hybrids and foundation seed. Its Asgrow are soybean varieties and foundation seed. Its Deltapine are cotton varieties, hybrids and foundation seed. Canola is its row crop variety and hybrid. Its vegetable seed brands are Seminis and De Ruiter. These are open field and protected-culture seed for tomato, pepper, eggplant, melon, cucumber, pumpkin, squash, beans, broccoli, onions, and lettuce, among others. Its Biotechnology traits include SmartStax, YieldGard, YieldGard VT Triple, VT Triple PRO, VT Double PRO, Roundup Ready and Roundup Ready 2 Yield and Genuity. Its SmartStax, YieldGard, YieldGard VT Triple, VT Triple PRO and VT Double PRO have applications for corn, and Bollgard and Bollgard II have application for cotton. It enables crops to protect themselves from borers and rootworm in corn and leaf- and boll-feeding worms in cotton, reducing the need for applications of insecticides. Its Roundup Ready and Roundup Ready 2 Yield have application for soybeans. The Company’s Genuity is a global umbrella trait brand. It enables crops, such as corn, soybeans, cotton, and canola to be tolerant of Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides. Monsanto also offers farmers stacked-trait products, which are single-seed products in which two or more traits are combined.

Agricultural Productivity Segment

Through the Company’s Agricultural Productivity segment, it manufactures Roundup brand herbicides and other herbicides and provide lawn-and-garden herbicide products for the residential market. Its products include Glyphosate-based herbicides, Selective herbicides and Lawn-and-garden herbicides. Its Glyphosate-based herbicides have applications in nonselective agricultural, industrial, ornamental and turf applications for weed control. Its Selective herbicides control preemergent annual grass and small seeded broadleaf weeds in corn and other crops. Its residential lawn-and-garden has applications for weed control. It uses the same distribution and sales and marketing organization for its crop protection products as for its seeds and traits. It also has separate distribution and sales and marketing organizations for its crop protection products. It sells crop protection products through distributors, independent retailers and dealers and agricultural cooperatives. In some cases outside the United States, it sells such products directly to farmers. It also sells certain of the chemical intermediates of its crop protection products to other agricultural chemical producers, who then market their own branded products to farmers. The Company markets its lawn-and-garden herbicide products through The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	28.55	17.75	25.63	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	42.42	33.80	84.70	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	22.21	6.14	26.64	12.34
Beta	0.85	1.11	1.21	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	3.26	2.70	2.46	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	3.22	1.93	2.78	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	5.61	2.02	2.91	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	18.52	13.22	23.51	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	25.74	14.40	26.20	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	1.69	1.26	0.99	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	1.06	1.50	1.46	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	26.01	16.40	17.24	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	47.11	10.40	13.60	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	6.14	15.30	41.90	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	2.32	23.59	21.61	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	10.85	14.48	13.61	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	16.64	57.38	85.31	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	-2.73	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	41.48	15.50	24.76	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	17.89	22.53	20.20	3.53

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Fertilizer

The Mosaic Company (Mosaic), incorporated on January 23, 2004, is a producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients for the global agriculture industry. As of May 31, 2010, the Company operated through two business segments: Phosphates and Potash. The Phosphates Segment produces phosphate-based animal feed ingredients in the United States. The Company sells phosphate-based crop nutrients and animal feed ingredients throughout North America and internationally. The Potash segment produces and sells potash throughout North America and internationally, principally as fertilizer, but also for use in industrial applications and, to a lesser degree, as animal feed ingredients. The Company serves customers in more than 40 countries. As of May 31, 2010, Cargill, Incorporated owned approximately 64.2% of the Company’s outstanding common stock. In December 2009, the Company sold its Thailand distribution business to I C P Fertilizer Co., Ltd.

Phosphates Segment

The Company produces concentrated phosphate crop nutrients and phosphate-based animal feed ingredients. The Company’s United States phosphoric acid production totaled approximately 3.6 million tonnes during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 (fiscal 2010). The Company’s Phosphates business segment includes its North American concentrated phosphate crop nutrient and animal feed ingredients operations. Mosaic’s phosphate crop nutrient products are marketed worldwide to crop nutrient manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Its principal phosphate crop nutrient products are diammonium phosphate (DAP) and monoammonium phosphate (MAP). MicroEssentials is a value-added ammoniated phosphate product that is enhanced through a process that creates very thin platelets of sulfur and other micronutrients, such as zinc, on the granulated product. The Phosphates segment produces and markets phosphate-based animal feed ingredients. It markets its feed phosphate primarily under the brand names Biofos and Multifos.

Phosphate rock is the key mineral used to produce phosphate crop nutrients and feed phosphate. Mosaic’s phosphate rock production totaled approximately 13.3 million tons in fiscal 2010. As of May 31, 2010, the Company operated five phosphate mines with a combined annual capacity of approximately 16.4 million tons. These mines are Four Corners, South Fort Meade, Hookers Prairie, Hopewell and Wingate. All of its phosphate mines and related mining operations are located in central Florida.

The Company owns two ocean-going barges and contract for operation of another ocean-going vessel that transport molten sulfur from from the Texas terminals to Tampa and then onward by truck to its Florida phosphate plants. It owns and operates sulfur terminals in Houston, Texas, and in Tampa, Florida. It also owns a 50% equity interest in Gulf Sulphur Services Ltd., LLLP (Gulf Sulphur Services), which is operated by its joint venture partner. Gulf Sulphur Services has a sulfur transportation and terminaling business in the Gulf of Mexico, and handles these functions for a substantial portion of the Company’s Florida sulfur volume.

Potash Segment

The Company’s potash products are marketed worldwide to crop nutrient manufacturers, distributors and retailers, and are also used in the manufacture of mixed crop nutrients, and to a lesser extent, in animal feed ingredients. It also sells potash to customers for industrial use. In addition, Mosaic’s potash products are used for de-icing and as a water softener regenerant. The Company operates three potash mines in Canada, including one shaft mine and one solution mine. It also owns related refineries at each of the mines. As of May 31, 2010, the Company’s potash capacity, excluding tonnage produced at Esterhazy for a third-party pursuant to a contract, totaled 10.4 million tons of product per year. During fiscal 2010, production, excluding tonnage produced for the third party at Esterhazy, totaled 5.2 million tons.

The Company operates three Canadian potash facilities, all located in the southern half of the Province of Saskatchewan, including its solution mine at Belle Plaine, two interconnected mine shafts at Esterhazy and its shaft mine at Colonsay. Its potash mines in Canada produce muriate of potash (MOP) exclusively. Its Canadian operations produce 15 different MOP products, including industrial grades. Under a contract (the PCS Tolling Contract) with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (PCS), the Company mines and refines the customer’s potash reserves at its Esterhazy mine for a fee plus a pro rata share of operating and capital costs. The contract provides that PCS may elect to receive between 0.45 million and 1.3 million tons of potash per year.

In the United States, the Company has two potash facilities, including a shaft mine located in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and a solution mine located in Hersey, Michigan. The Carlsbad ore reserves are of two types: sylvinite, a mixture of potassium chloride and sodium chloride that is the same as the ore mined in Saskatchewan, and langbeinite, a double sulfate of potassium and magnesium. Two types of potash are produced at the Carlsbad refinery. MOP is the primary source of potassium for the crop nutrient industry. Double sulfate of potash magnesia is the second type of potash, which the Company markets under its brand name K-Mag, and contains sulfur, potassium and magnesium, with low levels of chloride. At the Carlsbad facility, the Company mines and refines potash from 73,781 acres of mineral rights.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	14.60	17.75	25.63	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	36.85	33.80	84.70	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	10.39	6.14	26.64	12.34
Beta	1.22	1.11	1.21	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	3.69	2.70	2.46	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	3.00	1.93	2.78	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	3.60	2.02	2.91	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	12.23	13.22	23.51	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	45.51	14.40	26.20	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	0.27	1.26	0.99	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	0.14	1.50	1.46	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	–	16.40	17.24	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	3.95	10.40	13.60	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	27.85	15.30	41.90	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	37.67	23.59	21.61	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	8.98	14.48	13.61	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	143.04	57.38	85.31	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	290.70	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	31.56	15.50	24.76	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	28.97	22.53	20.20	3.53

Potash Corp of Sask (NYSE:POT) Fertilizer

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (PCS) is an integrated fertilizer and related industrial and feed products company. The Company owns and operates five potash mines in Saskatchewan and one in New Brunswick. It also holds mineral rights t the Esterhazy mine where potash is produced under a mining and processing agreement with a third party. Its phosphate operations include the manufacture and sale of solid and liquid phosphate fertilizers; animal feed supplements and industrial acid, which is used in food products and industrial processes. It has a phosphate mine and two mineral processing plant complexes in northern Florida and six phosphates feed plants in the United States. Its nitrogen operations involve the production of nitrogen fertilizers and nitrogen feed and industrial products, including ammonia, urea, nitrogen solutions, ammonium nitrate and nitric acid. It has nitrogen facilities in Georgia, Louisiana, Ohio and Trinidad.

Potash Operations

The Potash Operations include the mining and production of potash, which is used as fertilizer. All potash produced by the Company in Saskatchewan is in the southern half of the Province. Three potash deposits of economic importance occur in the Province, the Esterhazy, Belle Plaine and Patience Lake Members. The Patience Lake Member is mined at the Lanigan, Allan, Patience Lake and Cory mines, and the Esterhazy Member is mined at the Rocanville and Esterhazy mines. It also produces potash at its mine near Sussex, New Brunswick from the flank of an elongated salt structure. It also holds interest in certain oil and gas rights in the vicinity of the New Brunswick mine. During the year ended December 31, 2010, its conventional potash operations (excluding Esterhazy) mined 22.435 million tons of ore at an average grade of 22.62% potassium oxide (K2O). During 2010, potash production from all its operations (including Esterhazy) consisted of 8.078 million tons of potash (KCI or finished product) with an average grade of 61.08% K2O, representing 49% of North American production.

Phosphate Operations

The Company mines phosphate ore and manufacture phosphoric acid, solid and liquid fertilizers, animal feed supplements, purified phosphoric acid, which is used in food products and industrial processes, hydrofluosilicic acid (HFSA) and silicon tetrafluoride (STF). The Company conducts its operations primarily at two facilities, one a 74,787-acre facility near Aurora, North Carolina and the other a 100,580-acre facility near White Springs in northern Florida. The Aurora facility includes a 6.0 million tons per-year mining operation, three sulfuric acid plants, four phosphoric acid plants, four purified acid plants, a liquid fertilizer plant, a superphosphoric acid (SPA) plant, a defluorinated phosphate (DFP) or animal feed plant, two granulation plants capable of producing diammonium phosphate (DAP) or monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and four STF plants.

The White Springs facility is a phosphoric acid producer in the United States. The White Springs facility includes a mine and two production facilities, Suwannee River and Swift Creek, with two sulfuric acid plants, one phosphoric acid plant, two MAP plants, a SPA plant, a dicalcium phosphate plant and a DFP plant located at the Suwannee River complex and two sulfuric acid plants and a superphosphoric plant located at the Swift Creek complex. At the Geismar, Louisiana facility, it manufactures phosphoric acid. The Geismar facility has a sulfuric acid plant, a phosphoric acid plant and a liquid fertilizer plant. Other phosphate properties include animal feed plants in Marseilles, Illinois; Weeping Water, Nebraska; and Joplin, Missouri; technical and food grade phosphate plant in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a terminal facility at Morehead City, North Carolina. During 2010, the Aurora facility’s total production of phosphate rock was 4.0 million tons and the White Springs facility’s total production of phosphate rock was 1.8 million tons.

Nitrogen Operations

Nitrogen operations include production of nitrogen fertilizers and nitrogen chemicals. These products are used for agricultural, industrial and animal nutrition purposes. The Company has four nitrogen production facilities, of which three are located in the United States and one is located in Trinidad.

The Company competes with The Mosaic Company, CF Industries, Inc., Koch Industries, Inc., and Terra Industries, Inc.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	29.11	17.75	25.63	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	43.98	33.80	84.70	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	6.91	6.14	26.64	12.34
Beta	1.10	1.11	1.21	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	7.25	2.70	2.46	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	6.92	1.93	2.78	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	7.09	2.02	2.91	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	21.39	13.22	23.51	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	52.56	14.40	26.20	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	0.51	1.26	0.99	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	0.33	1.50	1.46	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	14.29	16.40	17.24	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	6.81	10.40	13.60	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	64.88	15.30	41.90	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	64.42	23.59	21.61	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	11.19	14.48	13.61	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	91.71	57.38	85.31	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	74.90	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	28.90	15.50	24.76	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	38.90	22.53	20.20	3.53

Syngenta AG (VX:SYNN) Seed & Genetics

Syngenta AG (Syngenta) is an agribusiness operating in the crop protection and seeds businesses. The Company is involved in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of a range of products designed to improve crop yields and food quality. In addition, Syngenta offers Professional Products through the development of products for markets, such as lawn and garden, professional pest management, vector control and public health. The crop protection chemicals include herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and seed treatments to control weeds, insects and diseases in crops. Many of these products also have application in the professional products sector in areas, such as public health, turf and ornamental markets. The seeds business operates in three sectors: seeds for field crops, including corn, oilseeds, cereals and sugar beet; vegetable and flower seeds, and pot and bedding plants. The Company operates in three business segments: crop protection, seeds and business development. On September 30, 2010, Syngenta acquired the Maribo Seed sugar beet business from Nordic Sugar, a subsidiary of Nordzucker AG. On November 8, 2010, Syngenta acquired the 50% equity interest in Greenleaf Genetics LLC. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company acquired Maribo Seeds.

Crop protection

Syngenta is active in herbicides, especially for corn, cereals, soybean and rice; fungicides mainly for corn, cereals, fruits, grapes, rice, soybean and vegetables; insecticides for fruits, vegetables and field crops; seed care, primarily in corn, soybean, cereals and cotton, and professional products, such as products for public health and products for turf and ornamentals. Herbicides can be subdivided into selective herbicides, which are crop-specific and control weeds without harming the crop, and non-selective herbicides, which reduce or halt the growth of all vegetation with which they come in contact. Its seed care products are insecticides and fungicides used to protect growth during the early stages. Professional products are herbicides, insecticides and fungicides used in markets beyond commercial agriculture, and include a range of growing media mixes for professional flower growers.

Syngenta has a range of selective herbicides that control grasses and broad-leaved weeds and are applicable to the crops with an emphasis on corn and cereals. Atrazine (AATREX/GESAPRIM) acts against annual grasses and broad-leaved weed. Clodinafop (TOPIK/HORIZON/CELIO/DISCOVER) is a grass herbicide, which provides the spectrum of annual grass control available in wheat. Fluazifop-B-Butyl (FUSILADE) is used for the post-emergence control of grass weed. Mesotrione (CALLISTO family) is a post-emergent herbicide with a spectrum against broad-leaved weeds in corn. Pinoxaden (AXIAL) is a post-emergent selective grassweed herbicide, for use in both wheat and barley. S-metolachlor (DUAL GOLD/DUAL MAGNUM) is a lower dose rate replacement for metolachlor.

Syngenta has a series of non-selective herbicides, which include Glyphosate (TOUCHDOWN), a non-selective herbicide with systemic activity for glyphosate-based products; Diquat (REGLONE), a non-selective contract herbicide used as a desiccant to allow easier harvesting, and Paraquat (Gramoxone), a non-selective contact herbicide engaged in the development of minimum tillage cropping systems. Syngenta has a range of Fungicides, including Azoxystrobin (AMISTAR), a strobilurin fungicide; Chlorothalonil (BRAVO), a fungicide and a partner for AMISTAR, being integrated into disease control programs, which use both products; Cyproconazole (ALTO), a systemic fungicide with broad-spectrum activity, especially against rust and leaf spot in cereals, soybean, sugar beet and coffee; Cyprodinil (UNIX/STEREO/SWITCH/CHORUS), a fungicide for use on cereals used to control eyespot, powdery mildew and leaf spot diseases, and Difenoconazole (SCORE), a systemic triazole fungicide with broad-spectrum activity against plant diseases, particularly leaf spots of pome fruit, vegetables, field crops and plantation crops.

The Company’s range of fungicides, in addition, includes Fluazinam (SHIRLAN), a fungicide for control of potato blight; MEFENOXAMTM (RIDOMIL GOLD/FOLIO GOLDTM/SUBDUE), used for the control of seeds and soil-borne diseases caused by fungi, such as pythium, phytophtora and downy mildews; Propiconazole (TILT/ BANNER), a foliar fungicide for disease control in cereals, bananas, rice, corn, peanuts, sugar beet, turf and other food and non-food crops, and Trinexapac-ethyl (MODDUS), a plant growth regulator. Syngenta has a range of insecticides, which can be either applied to the soil or sprayed onto the foliage. Abamectin (VERTIMEC or AGRIMEC/AGRIMEK), which is produced by fermentation, is an insecticide and acaricide used against mites, leafminers and some other insects in fruits, vegetables, cotton and ornamentals. Emamectin Benzoate (PROCLAIM or AFFIRM) provides control of caterpillars on vegetables, cotton and fruits. Lambda-cyhalothrin (KARATE/ICON) is an agricultural pyrethroid brand. Lufenuron (MATCH) is an insect growth regulator that controls caterpillars in corn, potatoes, cotton, vegetables and fruits. Thiamethoxam (ACTARA) is active at low use rates against a spectrum of soil and sucking insects.

The Company’s seed care products include Difenoconazole (DIVIDEND), active against a range of diseases, including bunts, smut and damping off on cereals, cotton, soybeans and oilseed rape; MEFENOXAM (APRON XL) is used for the control of seed and soil-borne diseases caused by fungi, such as pythium, phytophtora and downy mildews; Fludioxonil (MAXIM or CELEST) is a contact fungicide with residual activity targeting seed and soil-borne diseases like damping off, bunt, smut and leaf stripe on cereals, and Thiamethoxam (CRUISER) is an insecticide with systemic activity in a range of crops, including cereals, cotton, soybeans, canola, sugar beet, corn, sunflower and rice. Syngenta offers a range of professional products for use in turf (golf courses and sports fields), ornamentals (cut flowers, bedding plants and nurseries), vegetation management (roads, railroads and rights-of-way), and for home and garden use. Prodiamine (BARRICADE) is a pre-emergence grass and broad-leaved weed herbicide in turf. Azoxystrobin (HERITAGE) is a fungicide for use on turf used on golf courses. Trinexapac-ethyl (PRIMO MAXX) is a plant growth regulator for turf that increases stress tolerance and decreases clippings. Growing Media (FAFARD) is a brand in the United States media market engaged in the custom mixes for producers of ornamental plants.

Syngenta offers a range of products for use in controlling insect pests, including Lambda-cyhalothrin (ICON), used in public health outlets for control of malaria and other tropical diseases and nuisance pests, such as house flies and cockroaches, and Cypermethrin (DEMON), a pyrethroid insecticide that provides a lasting soil treatment to prevent termites from attacking homes and other structures. The Company’s other products include Mandipropamid (REVUS), a fungicide for fruit and vegetables to combat late blight and downy mildew; Isopyrazam, a broad-spectrum cereal fungicide; Chlorantraniliprole mixtures (DURIVO, AMPLIGO, VOLIAM and VIRTAKO), a chemical of the bisamide class, and AVICTA, a seed treatment for the control of nematodes in cotton and corn. The Company’s products in late stage development include Bicyclopyrone, 545, Sedaxane and Cyantraniliprole.

In the crop protection segment, Syngenta competes with BASF, Bayer, Dow, E.I Du Pont de Nemours and Co. and Monsanto.

Seeds

Syngenta develops, produces and markets seeds and plants that have been developed using advanced genetics and related technologies. As of December 31, 2010, its seed portfolio offered over 200 product lines and over 6,800 varieties of Syngenta’s own genetics. The Company divides its products into field crops, such as corn, oilseeds and sugar beet, and horticultural crops, which consist of flowers and vegetables.

Corn (NK/Garst/Golden Harvest) hybrids are sold by Syngenta, through distribution channels covering a range of countries and maturities. In addition, hybrids and inbred lines are licensed to other seed companies, through the GreenLeaf Genetics joint venture with Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. Sugar Beet (Hilleshog) seeds are bred to develop high yielding varieties with stress and disease tolerance, high sugar content, low soil tare and improved juice purity. Oilseeds (NK) include sunflowers, soybeans and oilseed rape. Syngenta sunflower seed varieties are bred for high yield, as well as heat stress tolerance, disease resistance, herbicide tolerance and oil quality. Cereals (NK/NFC New Farm Crops/AgriPro – Coker/ Resource Seeds Inc. /C.C. Benoist) wheat and barley varieties combine high yield, disease resistance and agronomic characteristics coupled with grain quality for the milling, malting and animal feed industries.

The Company’s vegetables brands include S&G, Rogers, Daehnfeldt and Zeraim Gedera. Syngenta offers a range of vegetable seeds, including tomatoes, peppers, melons, watermelons, squash, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, sweet corn, cucumbers and oriental radish. Syngenta develops genetics that address the needs of consumers as well as processors and commercial growers. The Company’s flowers brands include Syngenta Flowers, Goldsmith, Yoder and GoldFisch. Syngenta offers a range of flower seeds, plugs and vegetative multiplication material (cuttings) which it sells to professional growers of horticultural crops. Syngenta focuses on breeding a range of flower varieties, including bedding plants, such as viola, begonia, New Guinea impatiens, pelargonium and petunia; pot plants, such as cyclamen and poinsettia; cuttings for, amongst others, the market of hanging baskets, such as impatiens and verbena, and a range of perennials. Its other products include Agrisure 3000GT, NK Petrol, Mini Kumato, Intrude/Hunter, Strategos/Pegaso, Calliope, Plush, Mammoth, Perfetto, Volumia, Mira, Techno and Goldalia.

In the seeds segment, the Company competes with Monsanto, Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. (Pioneer), Vilmorin, KWS, Bayer, Dow, Ball, Sakata and Takii.

Business development

Business Development directs early stage research and technology expenditures, as well as expenditures for development and marketing activities. Business Development is producing corn amylase via contract with growers under the United States Food and Drug Administration (USDA) permit. On February 11, 2011, its ENOGEN was approved by the USDA. Syngenta’s primary center for agricultural genomics and biotechnology research is at Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc. (SBI) in Research Triangle Park in the United States. As of December 31, 2010, Syngenta’s Business Development segment was engaged in Queensland University of Technology for biofuels, with concentration on development of sugar cane transformation and gene expression tools; Proteus S.A. for biofuels, focusing on discovery and evolution of enzymes in the processing of biofuels; Chromatin, Inc. for gene stacking, use of their gene stacking technology in sugarcane, and Institute for Genetics and Developmental Biology, Beijing, China for yield, drought trait gene discovery.

In the business development segment, the Company competes with Monsanto, Pioneer, Bayer and Dow.

Valuation Ratios

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
P/E Ratio (TTM)	22.33	17.75	25.63	17.44
P/E High – Last 5 Yrs.	29.25	33.80	84.70	93.43
P/E Low – Last 5 Yrs.	13.25	6.14	26.64	12.34
Beta	0.50	1.11	1.21	1.29
Price to Sales (TTM)	2.72	2.70	2.46	2.21
Price to Book (MRQ)	4.15	1.93	2.78	3.07
Price to Tangible Book (MRQ)	7.26	2.02	2.91	5.48
Price to Cash Flow (TTM)	16.38	13.22	23.51	57.86
Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM)	47.25	14.40	26.20	59.57
% Owned Institutions	–	–	–	–

Dividends

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Dividend Yield	1.62	1.26	0.99	1.76
Dividend Yield – 5 Year Avg.	1.77	1.50	1.46	2.47
Dividend 5 Year Growth Rate	21.72	16.40	17.24	-4.32
Payout Ratio(TTM)	37.51	10.40	13.60	45.12

Growth Rates

	Company	Industry	Sector	S&P 500
Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	13.00	15.30	41.90	9.93
Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	5.90	23.59	21.61	10.61
Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	7.51	14.48	13.61	7.50
EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago	2,566.67	57.38	85.31	76.69
EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago	-0.16	–	–	–
EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	19.57	15.50	24.76	4.75
Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate	19.27	22.53	20.20	3.53

Shayne Heffernan

Shayne Heffernan

Shayne Heffernan oversees the management of funds for institutions and high net worth individuals.

Shayne Heffernan holds a Ph.D. in Economics and brings with him over 25 years of trading experience in Asia and hands on experience in Venture Capital, he has been involved in several start ups that have seen market capitalization over $500m and 1 that reach a peak market cap of $15b. He has managed and overseen start ups in Mining, Shipping, Technology and Financial Services. www.livetradingnews.com