There Is Still A Rainbow In Agriculture

In the last couple of years the agricultural press has been dominated by stories of distress, of foreclosure, of failure, of surpluses, of low prices. One gets the impression that the agricultual industry is about to be swallowed up in crisis. This is true, in part at least, because the news media thrive on distress; they thrive on failure; they thrive on conflict. News people generally follow whatever fad is current. They are like a flock of sheep in the pasture - if one jumps through a hole in the fence, they all jump through it. In this review I wish first to examine briefly the current financial status of agriculture. Although my emphasis will be primarily on US agriculture, inferences may be projected in a broader context. Second, I shall examine briefly the recent US efforts to curtail production, commonly referred to as Payment-In-Kind (PIK). Third, I shall examine the longer view of the unending race between the stork and the plough, or prospective population - food ratios in the decades ahead.