External Environment Scan – Global Trends
- Industry consolidation.
- Seed technologies and prices.
- Increasing costs to beginning farmers.
- Increasing land prices (purchase and cash rent).
- FSA Payment Reductions – Crop insurance rules/insurability, incentives, and losses to insurability of crops when planted.
- Unstable farm economy could negatively impact customer retention.
- Lower value of the dollar. Financial uncertainty. Low interest rates.
- Our nonprofit status limits our funds which limits our ability to keep up with technology, staffing, and service to client.
- Decreased state funding of FBFM.
- Increasing world supply/demand for agriculture products.
- The global economy affects farming thus affects our service. We can’t just be the Field Man down the street. We must have more rounded training and services.
- Biotechnology acceptance and/or labeling or other hurdles/issues that would increase costs or decrease returns on investment.
- Commodity prices – The volatility and flow of investment money, hedge funds, index funds and their impact on the value of the dollar, interest rates, and macro-economic cycles.
- Transportation infrastructure and costs (basis uncertainty) – U.S. agriculture can accurately be described as “a 21st century industry utilizing an early 20th century rural infrastructure.” When our nation’s rural roads and bridges were designed and established, the reality of agriculture and rural America was vastly different than it is today. If this critical system is not enhanced to accommodate modern day agriculture, the ability of farmers to feed the world will be diminished.
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