President Donald Trump told reporters the U.S. could be sliding into a recession. According to Wells Fargo agricultural economist Michael Swanson, there is a risk. The technical definition for a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth. “It’s very likely with the airline travel cancellations and meals away from home cancellations, the first quarter will show a contraction. The open question is if the second quarter will see a contraction. It all depends on how fast the virus is controlled.” Swanson says a recession doesn’t mean much for agriculture. “We’re more impacted by the strength of the dollar. Right now, the U.S. dollar is really strong. That probably has more of an impact of pricing of agricultural commodities in the short-term. Longer-term, not so much.”
