A difficult financial year for farmers has been complicated by a trade war and an immature crop. “The storm clouds are building and I want you to be prepared if those storm clouds turn ugly,” said Frayne Olson, crops economist, North Dakota State University Extension. “We have some real concerns about what is coming next, but let’s not panic. Let’s stay cool, work the problem and don’t make it worse by guessing.” During a forum presented by the Red River Farm Network at the Big Iron Farm Show, Innovus Agra President Bret Oelke described a challenging economic situation in agriculture. “There is a reduction in the amount of prepays at the end of each year; we’ve seen an increase in the amount of account receivables at a lot of our ag retailers and it is taking longer to pay last year’s operating loan. All of this is a function of the revenue that is available.” Oelke said farmers should be working on 2020 crop budgets right now. The big expense is input costs, like seed and crop protection products. “You do have to spend money to make money, but you need to be concerned with efficiency,” said Olson. The forum can be heard online.
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