From WATTAgNet:

Land O’Lakes Inc. has reported net sales for the first quarter of $3.8 billion, and net earnings of $99.4 million for the period ending March 31.

“Overall profits saw a dip in comparison to 2014 first quarter results, primarily due to the cyclical nature of milk prices. This market volatility has had a substantial, negative impact on the first quarter inventory values and financial results,” said Chris Policinski, Land O’Lakes president and CEO. “Despite this impact, we are very pleased with the underlying fundamentals of our business as volume, share and new product performance continue to be strong across most all of our portfolio. Our value-added products, continued innovation and growth investments continue to drive solid earnings.”

For 2014, Land O’Lakes reported net earnings of $266 million on record sales of $15 billion and a record $184 million in cash returned to members. These results were driven by continued growth in key areas of the company’s core business units: Crop Inputs, Dairy Foods and Feed.

In February, the company said it had acquired the assets of FLM+, a marketing communications and strategic consulting company with expertise in the agribusiness and rural community sector. The acquisition aligns the growth strategies of both companies in serving the agricultural industry.

And, last month, the company said it had hired Tim Scott as senior vice president and chief marketing officer.