Special Report
Economist sees revenue potential in 2010
Many corn and soybean farmers did not get fall fertilization completed so there is some anxiety as the planting season nears. Jim Weisemeyer, Senior Vice President, Informa Economics spoke Wednesday to the Bayer Crop Science Ag Issues Forum in Anaheim, California. He said the planting intentions report coming out in late March, will be the first real indication of farmer attitudes, etc. Input costs are down about 40%, so although grain prices are lower, Weisemeyer told Brownfield that there is a potential plus on the revenue side that would not be there if input costs were anywhere near the same price as they were a year ago.
Weisemeyer said there will be volatility in prices, but “nothing like what you’ve seen in the past 24 months.”
Weisemeyer said, in a nutshell, Cap and Trade is “dead.” The proponents of climate change legislation are “regrouping.” He expects nothing to happen prior to the November 2, 2010 election, but he suggests we keep an eye on the Senate for climate change legislation in a new form late in the year.
The Environmental Protection Agency can, by law, regulate, but that will take years to unfold.
Weisemeyer suggested that Congress and the White House will have to start dealing with what he calls the “debt sentence” after the November elections. Farm programs will be reviewed and there will probably be cuts in crop insurance, a reduction in direct payments, and possibly ethanol blender credit reductions.
On a positive note, Weisemeyer said that there is opportunity as the middle class outside of the U.S. grows and there is an increased demand for protein.
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