U.S. grain prices and demand
for grain products will likely not change much, if at all. That forecast comes
from Dr. Keith Coble, the Agricultural and Economics Department head at
Mississippi State University. He spoke to attendees of the American Farm Bureau
national convention during a workshop on global crop trends and the U.S. farm
policy forecast for the year ahead. Unless some kind of a major market
disruption occurs, such as intense weather damage or overseas market changes, 2018
will likely look a lot like 2017. “We really aren’t seeing anything that will
significantly move the markets up or down in the short-term,” Coble says,
“We’re going to see more sideways movement in the markets.” He calls cotton one
of the most promising commodities in the year ahead. Coble addressed the
outlooks for many of the major commodities, including corn, soybeans, wheat,
cotton, and rice, predicting very little change. He also spoke about the future
of crop insurance. “The overall percentage of the farm bill taken up by the
commodity programs has diminished because of a shift away from Title 1 programs
and toward crop insurance.” His prediction on the farm bill is minor tweaks to
the legislation because of the short window that comes with an election year.
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