Net Sales of $688.8 million declined 1.7%; excluding $13.7 million of unfavorable currency impacts, sales were similar to last year, as strong growth in Utility Support Structures was offset by lower sales in the Coatings segment due to COVID-19 impacts, as expected.

This year, articles dealing with low water reserves for land used for agricultural purposes, the high prevailing temperatures or climate change in general often carried the title "Drought in Germany." Hand-in-hand with this, the necessity of irrigation is also being discussed with increasing frequency. The consensus is that irrigation is becoming ever more important to safeguard agricultural yields.

Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE: VMI), a global provider of engineered products and services for infrastructure development and irrigation equipment and services for agriculture, reported financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 28, 2019.

North America sales of $102.8 million were 9.7% below 2018 sales of $113.9 million. Adverse weather conditions and continued low net farm income levels are weighing on farmer sentiment and demand.

Valmont Industries, the manufacturer of irrigation equipment for agriculture, reports that it has closed its Valley, Neb., manufacturing facility until at least Wednesday, March 20, as flood waters have made it unsafe for employees.

In this week's podcast we look at how dealers' sales outlook for 2018 compares to that of the OEMs, cyber-based security threats to precision farming and an increase in non-real estate farm loans. In addition, we look into the University of Missouri's Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute's forecast for net farm income in 2018 and 2019, North American ag equipment sales through the first three quarters of 2018 and an improvement in irrigation equipment sales for Lindsay.

Revenue of $678.7 million was down slightly compared to last year, as revenue gains in the Engineered Support Structures, Utility Support Structures and Coatings segments were offset by lower sales in Irrigation and unfavorable currency impacts of $12.6 million (1.9% of sales).