Digging Into The Ag Economy, New Corn Leadership

Reports suggest the farm economy is making more money than ever. But when you dig a little deeper, the picture isn't quite so rosy. Troy Schneider, Eastern Colorado corn farmer and a board member with the National Corn Growers Association, explains why the numbers don't always tell the whole story.

“Those payments are only going to be 35% of what we were projected to get. So you're only going to get 35% of what we were anticipating. But the USDA accounts for that second round of payments at 100% when they talk about farm income up 45% so yeah, farm income is, according to USDA, is up, but yeah, we were in DC telling everybody that don't believe it, it, it is still a struggle.”

And speaking of the National Corn Growers Association, Jed Bower a fifth generation corn and soybean farmer from Ohio, began his term as the president of the National Corn Growers Association, saying a challenging rural economy will be his top priority in the year ahead. He said we need new markets to help alleviate the economic crisis that's threatening the survival of countless family farms across the country. Thus, he says that's why they will continue to encourage Congress to act immediately, to pass legislation that expands consumer access to higher blends of ethanol year round, and urged the Trump administration to move quickly to develop new foreign markets.