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Hill: farmers need to look ahead and plan for the future

Farmer Jay Hill says it’s critical to look beyond challenges the ag industry faced in 2020 and make future plans for farming operations.

“When you dig down into the fundamentals of agriculture, a negative past paves the way for a positive future,” he says. “…2021 is up to us as farmers. The men and women in this agricultural field are going to be able to shape this field for a long time to come. “

He says there are several positives in agriculture right now.

“The positive things we have in front of us are markets,” he says. “Look at the price of grain, beef and pork are starting to come along, and forage markets are starting to move.”

But, Hill says lessons learned from last year can help farmers in 2021.

“The things we rely on the most for cash flow were impacted across the bottom line in 2020, but niche markets weren’t impacted as bad as our commodity markets,” he says.

He says farmers also have an opportunity to prove they are addressing climate challenges as regulations and polices continue to take shape.

Hill, who farms in west Texas and southern New Mexico, made these comments during the virtual Farm Bureau FUSION conference.