Impacts on Iowa

Abstract

<p>Iowa agriculture, generally, faces a positive outlook for the next 10 years. The increased and stable world economic growth, coupled with new government policies (GATI, NAFfA, and FAIR Act), will place the Iowa producers in an advantageous position. They will be able to have greater ability to respond to market signals and benefit from crop rotations. As a result, more soybeans will be planted (Figure I). Production of corn is expected to average 1.65 billion bushels in 1997-98 and rise to 1.80 billion bushels by 2005-06. Soybean production will increase to 440 million bushels in 1997·-98 and reach almost 500 million bushels by the end of the period Prices for these commodities will follow the U.S. average farm prices and are bullish relative to the past ten years (Figure 2).</p>