USDA Makes a 10-year Guess

March 15, 2017 — 

If you're interested in agriculture -- and enjoy big-picture, long-range projections -- the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a report for you. [Source: AgWeek.com, February 28, 2017, by Jonathan Knutson]

USDA has released its 10-year projections for the food and agriculture sector, covering major ag commodities, ag trade, and indicators of the U.S. farm sector, such as farm income.

Among the conclusions of the report:

-- Lower crop prices results in decline in planted acres.

-- Lower feed costs encourage expansion in the livestock sector.

-- "Steady world economic growth and continued global demand for biofuel" will help to support longer-run increases in consumption, trade and prices of ag products.

-- A strong U.S. dollar will "constrain growth in U.S. agricultural exports somewhat, (but) the United States remains competitive in global ag markets and export values grow over the next 10 years."

-- Net cash farm income and net farm income continue to fall from recent record highs before increasing over the latter part of the 10-year projection period.

The full 106-page report -- which includes sections on the major crops and livestock raised in the Upper Midwest -- can be read at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/oce20171/oce-2017-1.pdf?v=42788.