Rising Costs and Global Competition Push U.S. Agriculture Toward Breaking Point
Memphis, Tennessee – U.S. farmer competitiveness in the global marketplace, the cost-price squeeze of inputs and commodity prices, and market consolidation and corporate power, were top of mind concerns for most individuals responding to a recent survey conducted by the Southern Cotton Ginners Association of attendees to the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show.
The survey was just one component of efforts to take the pulse of producers at a critical time in the agriculture cycle. The Mid-South Farm & Gin Show created a forum for producers and industry representatives to come together around the concerns identified in the survey. A panel of ag lenders, seed, crop protection, and marketing specialists outlined ways they are working with producers and ginner. Featured speakers also highlighted efforts that can help address some of the issues facing farmers.
“Farmers are usually optimistic in the spring with planting, but we’re seeing cautious pessimism about the future,” said Tim Price, Southern Cotton Ginners Association Executive Vice President and Mid-South Farm & Gin Show manager. “In the survey, expert presentations and in conversations throughout the event, people pointed to the need for improved competitiveness in a dynamic global market.”
The top concerns and potential solutions to what many call an expanding crisis in American agriculture were crystallized through the feedback in our survey, Price says. “Even with substantial federal aid and significant movement toward much-needed legislation, more must be done to correct the inequity in global agriculture.”