Sara Muri, Top Producer Business & Crops Online Editor
Global demand is not slowing down, says John Kruse, managing director of agriculture services for IHS Global Insight. He says there will be some slowdown for the next few years, but his firm is optimistic about the future of world agricultural growth.
Listen to Kruse’s outlook:
Three major factors currently affecting global agriculture, Kruse says, are:
Biofuels: “The profitably of the ethanol industry has really been squeezed over the last four months, and that is really causing some challenges,” he says.
Price Volatility: “Price volatility is around to stay,” Kruse says. “And it’s going to be around to stay for the next three or four years.” He says global economic uncertainty and speculation are also coming into play.
Technology Advancements: Kruse says farmers should expect major improvements in corn and soybean yields, tolerance and nitrogen utilization. “We’ve got some pretty strong growth coming in technology to improve yields,” he says.
Kruse says that due to the yield increases from this upcoming technology, land use will level off or even decline.
Kruse spoke last week during the Missouri Agriculture Outlook Conference sponsored by theFood and Agricultural Policy Research Institute – University of Missouri, in Jefferson City, Mo.
For More Information
View Kruse’s presentation.
You can e-mail Sara Muri at smuri@farmjournal.com.
