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Uncertainties ahead for ag

The director of the University of Missouri’s Food and Ag Policy Research Institute says there’s many uncertainties ahead in agriculture.

Pat Westhoff says one uncertainty is the upcoming planting season, including the weather and how much corn acres get planted. USDA forecast a sharp decline in U.S. corn acres this season in the Prospective Plantings report, “Overall, I think we going to be watching to see just what kind of a spring planting season we have. So, will we get those crops in the ground we want to get in the ground? And of course, what happens with the markets will matter too.”

He says the corn and soybean market outlook isn’t great due to large supplies, “So will we see some prospects on the demand side that we can’t see right now? Will some things change that make the overall demand picture look brighter than it does today?”

And it’s unclear if lawmakers can pass a new farm bill, “I don’t rule anything out, I know there’s people working very hard at it, we had some requests just this week from people on the Hill to look at various options. So, people haven’t given up yet, that much I know for sure.”

Brownfield’s Carah Hart spoke with Westhoff at the Abner Womack Missouri Ag Outlook Conference.