| Current Poll |
Are you taking an out-of-state summer vacation?
View Results
|
|
Story Archives: Confusion reigns on farming scene
- 2013 - 378 articles
- 2012 - 1160 articles
- 2011 - 1177 articles
- 2010 - 810 articles
- 2009 - 779 articles
- 2008 - 949 articles
|
Confusion reigns on farming scene
"Nobody knows what to do right now. There's a lot of confusion," is Franklin Parish County Agent Carol Pinnel-Alison description of the plight of local farm producers moving into the early spring season.
"It looks like this will be another last minute season," she said of planting decisions. "Many are afraid to book right now, there's no handle on costs and many farmers got hit twice last year, first with locked-in early bookings and later with hurricane weather," she continued.Pinnel-Alison also said the lack of a firm federal farm bill for the year is also contributing to the confusion and the wait-and-see attitudes.Bankers are hesitant to lend to producers with cash flow difficulties and producers are reluctant to borrow using equity.
"It's sort of like the national banking crisis, it seems like there's some drying up," of financial tools for agricultural uses.Commodity prices are also in a state of flux and there does not seem to be anything on the horizon which will provide stability, the county agent suggested.
She said the suggested target date for planting corn, March 10 through April 1, is fast approaching. Later planting conditions favor soybeans next with cotton last in the commodity trio which dominates the region.
"Ideally, we would have a mix of the three," she said, "to keep the regional support infrastructure in place.""People are kind of in limbo," said Terry Todd of Associated Producers."But minds are going to have to be made up soon, because suppliers can't afford to stock seed the way they used to, it's too expensive," he added.Todd also said the wide range of prices last year is contributing to the general decision-making delay.
"I've never seen it go this late," he said, "Most people usually know what they want to do early in January. |
|
|
E-mail Story
Print Story
