So Long 2011

2011 has been an interesting year for the ag industry. It’s hard to narrow it down to the top news stories of the year, but here are a few. Mother Nature was even more fickle than usual causing frustration and grief for crop farmers across the country. If they weren’t up to their belt buckles in flood water, they were trying to avoid drying up and blowing away due to persistent draught. On the upside, pork producers made a comeback this year, plus the beef market spent much of 2011 trending higher. Even with all the extreme weather inflicted by Mother Nature crop profits were higher this year, but then so were input costs. Big news this past year revolved around high farm land values and the influence that’s had on farmers finding alternative ways to acquire and hang onto farm land. Of course the safety of the American food supply continued to dominate headlines, and First Lady Michelle Obama with the USDA unveiled the new MyPlate, replacing the Food Pyramid. And don’t forget, the Congressional Super Committee failed to come up with a deficit cutting plan. That just scratches the surface of what went on in 2011, but hey it’s time to ring in 2012. Bring it on!