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Market expert says Ukraine war means more demand for U.S. crops

A market specialist says the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine means the market will be watching U.S. crop production very closely.  Mike North is with ever.ag. He says, “The fact that Ukraine might not be planting a crop this spring because they’re at war, it really puts a lot of premium into our market because as a general rule we’re going to have to displace their lack of supply to the world market.”

North says people around the world still want to eat and they will be looking for a source for products they normally get from Ukraine, and it might last longer than a year. “Whether it’s by them banning exports to the end of the year, or it’s by them not being able to plant a crop, either way, you’ve taken that supply away and not just for a moment but for an entire season or two, depending on what happens.”

North says if the Russian aggression in Ukraine lingers on for a few more weeks and interrupts the Ukraine planting season, Ukrainian farmers will not get some or all of their ground planted…and the government is encouraging farmers to plant crops that can feed the Ukrainian population. “And so, rather than being an exporter of things, they’re considering options of planting oats and millet and other products that the world really doesn’t buy.”

Brownfield interviewed Mike North during the Professional Dairy Producers business conference in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.