December: “A time for reflection, a time for vision”

by | Dec 17, 2020 | 5 Ag Stories, News

December is “a time for reflection and a time for vision,” says Jeff Jorgenson, Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) president. Iowa soybean farmers this week looked at where they’ve been and where they’re going.

Iowa Soybean Association members gathered virtually Wednesday for Soybean Economics 2021: Production, Pricing, and Planning. The webinar featured three industry leaders: Terry Branstad, U.S. Ambassador to China, Jim Knuth, senior vice president of Farm Credit Services of America, and Matt Campbell, risk management consultant with StoneX Financial.

Jeff Jorgenson moderated the discussion, which offered “relevant information” to soybean farmers, who look forward to the 2021 growing season.” Matt Campbell reflected on 2020 and shared how farmers can best prepare for 2021.

“Farming is 20/20. You can look at hindsight – See where we’ve been and where we need to go,” Jorgenson says. “From that, he did tie into how tough things were in the July/August timeframe. It’s been a vertical market since then. He said, ‘You have to see where your profit margins are and decide what’s going to work.'”

Jim Knuth, on the other hand, focused on where Iowa agriculture is heading. Jorgenson says Knuth expressed optimism for the new year, which offers promising signals.

“Interest rates are low. We have a market that is showing to be profitable, but we have to take advantage of that. We deal with marketing every year, and I think it’s of the toughest things we have to do as farmers: Finding our bottom line, staying with a plan, and working the plan to be profitable,” Jorgenson says.