2010 Ag Economy
What can we expect in agriculture in 2010 from an ag economist’s point of view? I’m David Sparks and I’ll be right back with that answer in a minute. Dr. Paul Patterson is a University of Idaho Ag Economist who says: “A number of things in ag you always have to look at the individual commodities or sectors because agriculture is not a homogeneous entity and at any time there are some sectors for commodities where some are doing well and others are doing poorly. Overall we can characterize 2010 as a year that will be relatively tough for the majority of the ag sectors. There are some exceptions. The one that has a big impact on the state is sugar beets. Even though the price of sugar has been dropping, I think the beets are going to be contracted at a price, it’s still going to be a good year for the beet growers. If you start looking at the grain sector, both world and U.S. stocks, as tocks go up it provides food security but at the same time it weighs heavy on the markets.”
