2017 Illinois Farm Economics Summit

While very good crops in many parts of the state in 2016 helped incomes recover, the story of Illinois agriculture continued to be one of managing financial stress. The stress has been brought on by low corn, soybean, and wheat prices and costs of production that have adjusted somewhat slowly to the new price realities. Producers and landowners continue to face a series of difficult management challenges as they grapple with adjusting to the current environment of low grain prices. What is the prospect for a recovery in grain prices? Should cash rents be lower? And if so, how much? What strategies can be used to weather the current tough times? The University of Illinois Extension and members of the farmdoc team from the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics will be holding a series of five Farm Economics Summit meetings to help producers navigate these difficult times.

Speakers from the farmdoc team at the University of Illinois will explore the farm profitability outlook and management challenges from several perspectives, including the 2018 outlook for crop and livestock prices, soybean yield trends, update on the next farm bill, financial position of Illinois farms, habits of financially resilient farm operations, and crop economics for 2018. The format for the meeting will be fastpaced and allow plenty of time for questions from the audience.