American Gothic

It’s good to be a farmer once again according to a story at Bloomberg about farm incomes – the key measure of profitability for those who work the land…

The best second-half for commodities in a generation is pushing U.S. farm incomes and agricultural land prices toward record highs.

While the 17 percent rise in the Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials since the end of June reflects higher prices for all commodities, agriculture led the biggest rally since 1972. Cotton prices surged 76 percent to a record, wheat jumped 48 percent and corn reached a two-year high.

At a time when the U.S. jobless rate is 9.6 percent and home prices are weakening, this year’s farm income may top the $87.3 billion reached in 2004, while cropland values will rise as much as 10 percent, said Neil Harl, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University and former adviser to the governments of Ukraine and the Czech Republic. The jump in commodities means more sales of Deere & Co. tractors and Mosaic Co. fertilizer.

From my perspective, the three biggest factors behind this trend of higher farm incomes continuing are:

  • Deflation-fighting tactics by the Fed and Treasury pushing dollar-denominated ag commodity prices higher
  • Continued demand for more and better food from the gentrifying third world and emerging nations
  • Improvement in technology (seeds, equipment, fertilizers) that increase yields per acre and decrease adverse environmental/weather-related damage

High times for producers of ag commodities; we’ll see if that translates into success for my thesis holdings in ag stocks.

Source:

Farm Economy Heading for Record Driving Surge in U.S. Cropland (Bloomberg)

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Wealthcast Media, an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. EatVerts commented on Sep 22

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/11/15/american-gothic/ […]

  2. bitcoin era review 2020 commented on Sep 29

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/11/15/american-gothic/ […]

  3. 먹튀검증 commented on Oct 07

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/11/15/american-gothic/ […]

  4. fiorecarpentry.org commented on Oct 19

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/11/15/american-gothic/ […]

  5. best cbd reddit commented on Nov 27

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More here to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/11/15/american-gothic/ […]

  6. long wigs with bangs commented on Nov 28

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 9520 more Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/11/15/american-gothic/ […]

  7. 토토사이트 commented on Dec 24

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 68707 additional Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/11/15/american-gothic/ […]

  8. Sexy video commented on Dec 28

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Information here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/11/15/american-gothic/ […]