Monday, August 29, 2011

Ag Outlook 2012 Webinar

The Purdue Ag Economics Department has scheduled a webinar, "Ag Outlook 2012" for Tuesday, September 13 beginning at 8:30 a.m. I will be showing this at the Extension Office so if you have a slow internet connection, or would just prefer viewing it here, feel free to stop by. But do me a favor and call or e-mail me first to let me know you're coming. The room I've scheduled has about 20 chairs in it so if I'd like to know in advance if I need to move furniture.

They didn't put an end time on it but I'd think it would be finished by 10:30 or so. We will be having our Ag Outlook Breakfast this fall. This is not 100% confirmed but I expect it will be Friday, December 16 at the Clinton County Fairgrounds.

The complete program announcement from Purdue follows:

"Purdue Extension Service will present a program titled “Agricultural Outlook 2012” at 8:30 am ET/ 7:30 am CT on Tuesday September 13. For those interested, the link is: https://gomeet.itap.purdue.edu/tuesdays/ The program is free to the public and is designed to help farmers, land owners, input suppliers, and those interested in agriculture make better business decisions in the coming year. The program will be presented by Corinne Alexander an Agricultural Economist.

U.S. farmers are facing disappointing corn and soybean yields this fall as late planting was followed by extreme July heat and dryness. Demand remains strong for grains, soybeans, and food around the world with limited supplies. This means prices will be high. The program will help answer “How high?”

The volume of corn used for ethanol is expected to set new records in 2012, however, some believe there won’t be enough corn this fall to meet all the demands and that EPA should consider reducing government ethanol mandates. In addition, China continues to excite the corn market with purchases for a second year with prospects for longer-term buying relationships with the U.S.

Increasing attention is being given to the general economy with growing fears of a double-dip recession. This program will outline the reasons why the economy is growing slowly and make predictions for future growth, interest rates, and inflation. A short discussion of the Federal government debt situation will also be featured.

The livestock sector faces another year of extremely high feed costs. Yet some animal product prices have also risen sharply over the past year. Some of the animal species can afford these record feed prices, others may face losses in 2012. Regardless, consumers are experiencing the highest costs ever to feed their families.

Crop prices are up, but so are input costs for 2012. This program will outline which inputs are headed higher and how that may affect margins for 2012 and 2013. The battle for acres is underway this fall as producers consider seeding winter wheat. The program will demonstrate the economic implications of that battle by showing which crops are currently bidding most aggressively for the limited acres.

Land values and rents are expected to move higher again in 2012, but by how much and how high can land values and rents rise before they are too high? What are the driving factors to be watching? These and other topics will be covered."

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