Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 6840 BEARISH,BUT LESS THAN IN THE PAST THAT’Sthe headline from Dan Basse, an economist and founder of AgResource Company. He says that 2016 was another great year. “We had record soybean yields and record corn yields,” he says. “It was really farmers only profit source if they were able to squeeze any out this year.” Basse attributes this to what he calls globalization of the world. World agri- culture this year looking at the three principle crops (corn, soybeans and wheat) was a record large crop for the third consecutive year, he said. Total world grain supplies were up 95 million metric tons, which increased global grains stocks 24 million metric tons. “The world today is awash in grain,” he notes. The landscape for farmers here is grim; however, Basse says when he travels to Turkey and visits farmers in Russia or to South America, the smiles on farm faces are everywhere. “They are making lots of money,” he says. “So as you think about the food table … I want you to understand there’s another side of the table. “It’s due to currency that people are looking more favourably upon their lot in life. Russian farmers are expanding wheat acreage. South American farmers are on their way to producing a record soybean crop this year. And they are all looking at returns ranging between 10 and 30 per cent — a much different landscape than we are facing today.” Market Drivers While he was addressing members of the corn, sorghum and soybean seed industry, Basse hit upon several fac- tors that influence where agriculture is today, including demand, energy, de-carbonization, inflation, currency, political landscape and more. In short, he said that regarding demand, the world biofuel market is mature. Additionally, livestock pro- ducers have expanded herds, but now face reduced profitability, principally in the United States. Agricultural outlook improves from previous years, according to Dan Basse of AgResource Company. Farmers around the world are producing record staple crops, putting pressure on prices. Despite this, one agricultural economist expects sideways price movement.