During the AgCountry Farm Credit Services AgFocus Conference, geopolitical specialist Jacob Shapiro encouraged farmers to focus on more than just the headlines. “For instance, Greenland is not going to have a huge amount of impact on American farmers, Venezuela is not going to be a huge deal for American farmers,” said Shapiro. “The significant uptick in attacks on ships in the Black Sea, that could have a huge impact on American farmers because the last time we saw attacks at this level, that was shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and everybody listening knows what happens to those commodities that came out of the Black Sea, like wheat, and corn and sunflowers.” While many are focused on other parts of the globe, Shapiro is closely monitoring the increase in aggression in the Black Sea Region. Surprisingly, this analyst said corn and soybeans may not be the long-term answer for local farmers. “We’re no longer the low-cost producer. Brazil has entered the chat, if you will. China actively wants to diversify away from us, and I’m just not sure that there’s the global demand for those products out there.”
