RECAPS
problem we are facing — there are very few
crops in Texas where expected prices appear to provide a profit this year, and some
get worse in the next few years. He emphasized that producers need to spend money
wisely and fine tune crop decisions.
He reviewed FAPRI (Food and Agricultural Research Institute) Baseline Projections, which translate to high probabilities
of farmers losing real net worth or equity
in the next five years. The U.S. Net Farm
Income, as reported by USDA, was 58.3
billion for 2015, down 65.4 billion since
2013. This is back in line with what we saw
in 2006 and 2009.
Richardson also discussed the future
of the cotton industry at that time. Since
then, the USDA and Agriculture Commissioner Tom Vilsack told reporters that the
USDA does not have the authority to grant
American cotton farmers farm bill safety net
program access by designating cottonseed
as an “other oilseed.” Even if Vilsack had had
a different response, there would be many
hurdles to cross. Where does the money
come from? What are used as base acres?
How do you determine payment yields?
How do you determine cottonseed price?
In addition to the uncertainty of the
cotton program, all commodities are facing
uncertain times. Prices for all major crops
are off. Major exporters have increased
production along with high prices, just like
the U.S. The strong dollar is hurting our exports. The farm bill is not offering enough
of a safety net. Crop insurance is clearly the
next target, as proven by President Barack
GRAIN
Obama’s budget proposal that includes $18
billion in cuts to crop insurance over the
next 10 years.
In addition to these concerns, we need to
keep an eye on several other issues. What
is China doing with regards to stocks,
imports and farm supports? What trade
issues are we having? What is the land
coming out of CRP going to be? How does
WOTUS affect us?
There is absolutely no doubt that hard
times are ahead, but we also