State Of The Wheat Industry - Facing Opportunities And Challenges Ahead

 

During the recent Oklahoma Wheat Review that took place in El Reno, Oklahoma hosted by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, Jimmie Musick, treasurer for the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), updated attendees on some work done recently by his organization. Musick spoke with Radio Oklahoma Network’s Associate Farm Director Carson Horn about some of the challenges and opportunities he’s identified going on in the industry right now.

 

Musick first pointed out that a main priority needed to be a focus, not just by NAWG, but by all commodity groups on the upcoming 2018 Farm Bill. He says it seems like a long time away, but better to get started and be prepared than to let it sneak up on you. He also mentioned that he would like to see strong cooperation among all the different commodity groups, to approach Farm Bill negotiations with a united front. He seemed optimistic that an alliance of this nature would happen.

 

“I really think we have an opportunity to get a coalition of all the commodity groups,” Musick said, “the best we’ve ever had in the past and I think we’ve got some good legislators around that’s going to help us.”

 

Challenges being anticipated, Musick says will be the growing concerns over regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He says a major part of the problem is simply that there is a lot of misinformation out there about production agriculture. He says there will need to be a concerted effort to educate and promote the safe practices used by farmers to policy makers and the public.

Video: Cheapest States to Buy Farmland in America

The United States has more than 895 million acres of farmland, which includes all rural land tied to farming operations, from highly fertile Midwest cornfields to vast grazing ranges in the West, as well as the undeveloped rural land, which is often sold as ranches, homesteads, or uncultivated lots. Nowadays investing in rural land is very lucrative even billionaires like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett have bought up thousands of acres of farmland across America. In contrast to investors, agricultural companies, and business moguls, some buy farmland for their own requisites, like starting a small farmstead, creating a cottage, and becoming self-resilient. In this video we have ranked the top cheapest states to buy farmland according to the per-acre land value, which is accumulated from the United States Department of Agriculture. The USDA’s per-acre land values come from an annual survey, which is cross-checked with actual sales data, appraisals, and market trends to ensure accuracy. So here are The top Cheapest States to Buy Farmland.