So it is common to see agriculture s problems explained by the Asian Crisis, trade sanctions on certain countries such as Cuba and Iraq, a general slowdown in economic growth, exchange rates, energy prices, interest rates, inflation, deflation and virtually any other disruption that comes along. Others would blame loan rate levels, emergency payments, crop insurance, etc., etc. Interestingly, our experience over the years is that we are continuingly trying to identify the current thing to blame. This all sounds very suspicious to me. Of course not.
Disruptions occur in every industry.
The difference is that other industries self-adjust. To my way of thinking, no decisions about the nature of the next farm bill should be made until there is a focus on and understanding of the ability of agricultural markets to make adjustments irrespective of the exact nature of any specific disruption. Other industries self-adjust. To me, that is the real question. The experience of the last four years provides the perfect opportunity to address the adjustment issue.