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Does Corn Belt diversity still exist?

A land economics professor says the farm economy of the Corn Belt is as diverse as it was 80 years ago. Todd Kuethe with the University of Illinois says he decided to look into the matter since some have argued the farm economy of the Corn Belt is too specialized and, therefore, vulnerable to economic cycles.

But, by using what’s called the Shannon Diversity Index, he found the opposite is true. He tells Brownfield Ag News, “We’ve definitely seen a shift away from products like tobacco and cotton. Generally, as a classification, there’s been a shift away from the livestock side and towards the crop side. But, the crop side has still remained relatively diverse within the commodities.”

Kuethe tells Brownfield that doesn’t mean farmers are not specializing, “This isn’t a farm-level analysis so there are still farms that are very specialized and they are more tied to certain commodities. But, with the sector as a whole, we should be relatively resilient as prices cycle in any one commodity.” The Corn Belt is defined by the USDA’s Economic Research Service as Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Ohio.

AUDIO:  Interview with Todd Kuethe (6:30 mp3):