March 7, 2019
There’s a song in the irreverent play “Spamalot” by the Monty Python folks called “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” that may sum up what I saw recently at major farm trade shows I’ve attended.
Despite weak prices and a rapidly declining dairy industry, I talked with people who are moving ahead; figuring out their new future. And, it appears, looking for the bright side.
No question, the grain markets have been soft, whether from trade tensions or a changing demand picture, yet farmers with bins full of another record 2018 crop apparently feel they can control their destiny. It was a lesson I learned during the great runup in grain prices in 2012 — a bin full of $3.50 corn is worth more than an empty bin of $8 corn.
And that appears to be true this year. While there are piles of corn and soybeans on the farm, and stuffing the elevators across the country, farmers are looking ahead to the 2019 crop. This winter has been a bugger for everyone from California to Florida. In the West, wildfires, floods, snows and other calamities seem to fill the evening news every night.
Perseverance
Yet, agriculture is about persevering. It’s about putting in that next crop, buying a few more cows and reconsidering what you did in 2018 to improve in 2019. Perhaps the one dark spot on agriculture that’s very hard to overcome is the dairy industry.
For dairies across the country, the economics have changed. I’ll not judge what’s better. I learned a long time ago that economics always wins. If the market is telling you something, listening and moving accordingly makes sense. But the loss of more than half the dairy farms in Wisconsin alone in the past 15 years tells a tougher story.
And digging out of this dairy hole won’t be easy. Farmers are looking at ways to invest. Robotic milkers and stall maintenance equipment may be more popular as labor is less available. New systems make it easier to boost herd efficiency to eke out every spare ounce of milk during a lactation cycle to keep the gross milk check higher. And dairy farmers are getting that done, which will keep many going.
Positive attitude
Yet during the National Farm Machinery Show, when talking to several exhibitors, the common theme was, “These guys seem optimistic.” While not every exhibitor is seeing a boost in sales; and early orders for some lines may be softer than in the past, it shows that farmers want to move ahead.
I’ve always marveled at trade show attendance when markets are down. Why go to visit an event where you’ll see things you can’t afford right now?
The short answer is, to keep up. You’re really in it to win it; and knowing what new tools you can use when your cash situation improves can help you succeed. It ain’t easy farming. If it was, everyone would do it. Keep up the good work, and we’ll hope for better times ahead.
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