Ag Economy for 2023 Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. The Agricultural economy is dependent on so many different factors, like weather, government regulations, and inflation, and the past couple of years have given agriculture challenges on each of those fronts.Rabobank Global Strategist, Stephen Nicholson says the best advice he can give, is be patient …
NICHOLSON ... “I mean, we’re in a situation now of high inflation. Yes, it’s come down but this is not going to go away tomorrow. So, to think that fertilizer, seed costs, equipment costs, part costs, fuels are going to go down tomorrow, land costs, that’s probably not going to happen any time soon.”
But is there any way to plan for that? …
NICHOLSON ... “You have to be better planners, really. Let’s kind of use the same word. Because one of the things when we start talking to producers even last spring, we said, you need to start planning for ’23 now. And frankly, if you’re planning for the ’23 season now, you’re probably behind the eight-ball.”
And as we know, Nicholson says, year to year, there are no guarantees …
NICHOLSON … “If you can take risk off the table, why not do that? You know, farming is an inherently risky business from the very start because of all the influences that are out there, let’s do something to try and take that risk off the table. Because, we can’t control governments, we can’t control NGOs (non-governmental organizations), we can’t control the weather. But we can control our reaction to what the market gives us and, in a sense, plan according to what the market does give us.”
Tune in tomorrow for more … on the outlook for the ag economy.