Monsanto buys Climate Corporation for $930m Monsanto, the agricultural products company, is looking to take advantage of the data surrounding more extreme weather patterns with the acquisition of the Climate Corporation, a data science company that it expects to help raise crop yields. The St Louis-based company said the cash acquisition, valued at roughly $930m, would give it leadership in the growing field of big data, giving farmers access to wide swaths of information. IN Basic Resources Hugh Grant, chief executive, said data represented a potential $20bn industry-wide sales opportunity and linked the deal to climate change. "Farmers today are challenged to make key decisions for their farms in the face of increasingly volatile weather conditions," said Mr Grant told analysts. Because of this we believe there is a real opportunity and value in working with farmers to manage the risks that affect them every year. Climate Corp's hyper-local weather forecasting and risk management tools will bolster Monsanto's FieldScripts product, which provides farmers with field mapping, soil data, seed recommendations and other data points. Farmers access FieldScripts via an iPad in their tractor cab which sets the planter on the basis of transmissions received from Monsanto. The product is being trialled by about 160 US farmers covering 40,000 acres. Robert Fraley, chief technology officer, said the acquisition would help Monsanto's big data offerings grow "at a faster pace" internationally along with strengthening its core seed business. Monsanto is not alone in capitalising on the demand for data to make agriculture more precise. Rival DuPont Pioneer launched its own subscription service, Field360, this summer. It provides farmers access to soil, weather and precipitation information. The news came as Monsanto reported a larger-than-expected loss during what has historically been its weakest quarter. It reported a net loss of $249m, or 47 cents a share, excluding one-time items, during the three months ending in August compared with $229m, or 42 cents a share, during the same period last year. Revenues rose 5 per cent to $2.2bn during the company's fiscal fourth quarter, compared with $2.1bn last year. Analysts had expected a loss of 43 cents a share on $2.24bn in sales. The company said it would earn between $5 and $5.20 a share during the fiscal year ending next August, including a 14 cent charge related to the Climate Corp acquisition. Shares were down 0.96 per cent, at $104.04, on Wednesday in New York.