Cash-Strapped U.S. Farmers Switch to Generic Crop Chemicals, in Blow to Big Manufacturers [Video]

By P.J. Huffstutter and Heather Schlitz

Nov 14 (Reuters) – U.S. farmers struggling with slumping incomes and depressed grain prices have been switching to cheaper generic pesticides and fungicides as they plan for spring planting next year, which market analysts said could hit the bottom lines of agrichemical companies like Bayer.

Signs of these financial impacts are already emerging. Bayer BAYGn.DE shares fell sharply to a 20-year low on Tuesday, after the chemical company warned that weak global agricultural markets and a slumping U.S. farm economy are likely to pressure profits further.

Agrichemical competitors Syngenta, Corteva CTVA.N and the agriculture unit of Germany’s BASF BASFn.DE could also face challenges in the sector, analysts said.

Nearly one-third of all the pesticides and fungicides that Paul Butler uses on his Illinois soybean and corn farm are generic to help him cut costs in a tight year, he said.

Fellow Illinois grain grower Jeff O’Connor is doing the same. “It’s like if …