What's Ahead for Agriculture?

Here’s a snapshot of the issues and trends that could impact U.S. agriculture during 2014.

Policy Issues
Farm Bill: 
According to the American Farm Bureau, after a two-year delay, a new farm bill is expected to be complete in early 2014. This will provide some much-needed clarity for the U.S. agricultural industry, particularly concerning crop insurance and subsidies.

Water Regulations: 
Another legislative issue on tap for next year includes possible new regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pertaining to water usage and management on farms and ranches.

According to American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman, the EPA is attempting to expand the reach of the Clean Water Act, which could have serious and detrimental impacts on U.S. agriculture.

“If the EPA proposal were put in place, you could not discharge into any covered water unless you had a federal permit,” said Stallman in The Country Today. “In essence you as farmers and ranchers would have to have a permit relative to water and runoff for anything you wanted to do on your land.”

Land Costs
The value of farmland has risen in recent years throughout most of the Midwest. In Ohio, cropland value rose 12 percent in 2013, with bare cropland averaging $5,600 an acre, according to Barry Ward with the Ohio State University Extension in Farm and Dairy. Ward stated in Farm and Dairy that prices will be flat or fall in 2014. The forecast is expected to be the same for farmland nationwide.

“We’re at a point where land values are going to quit rising so rapidly,” said Terry Kastens, an agricultural economist in a Bloomberg article. “Prices will probably flatten out and may even fall back 10 percent or so, but we’re not going to see a crash.”

Low Prices
The Bucyrus Telegraph Forum recently reported that soybean and corn prices are expected to remain low in 2014, which means farmers might have to stretch profits from 2013 into the new year.

“It’s clear that commodities markets are not going to have the kind of strength in 2014 that they’ve had the past few years,” said Joe Cornely with the Ohio Farm Bureau. “In particular, there’s a retrenchment in corn prices.”

What 2014 agricultural issues and trends are on your mind? Please share your thoughts.

Photo obtained from www.americanfarminvestors.com.

Irrigation Investment

Nearly 80 percent of Ohio was classified as experiencing a “moderate drought” this season. Many consumers believe that the answer to this year’s drought is an easy and simple one — Use irrigation systems — An answer that farmers wish was as easily applied as it is recommended.

Farmers have been categorized, among other categories, as “dry-land farmers” or “irrigated farmers.”

“A dry-land farmer plants and prays,” said a farmer in a recent NPR news story.

So why don’t Midwest farmers utilize irrigation systems like their western and southern counterparts? There are multiple reasons according to Larry Brown, an Ohio State University Extension agricultural engineer and professor of food, agricultural and biological engineering:

• Often it’s cost prohibitive: cost of investment/maintenance, mechanical issues, repairs, fuel    
• There are water restrictions: demands 200 or more gallons of flow per minute; water sources such as ponds, streams, wells etc. are often depleted during droughts   
• It requires a permit   
• Summer rain is usually common in the Midwest   The sub-soil type is effective at containing moisture  

Dan Kamburoff, owner of Columbus Irrigation of Ashland, Ohio, said that the odds of needing irrigation for field crops are only about one or two years of 10, per a recent Farm and Dairy story.

“The irrigated farmer is in a completely different business,” said the NPR story author. 

Even with the many deterrents to investing in irrigation systems, many news stories have noted that irrigation dealers experienced increased interest this year because of the drought.  

Columbus Irrigation had a 40 percent business increase this year.

It will be interesting to note a potential increase of Ohio farmers who invest in irrigation systems during the coming years as a result of this year’s anomaly.

"Do your homework. For short periods in a typical Ohio growing season the return on the investment may not be there," said Brown.

Photo obtained from: farmanddairy.com