Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2021

a big year
billion higher than the revised forecast for
the preceding year. The FY 2022 forecast
value increase is primarily driven by higher
export values for soybeans, cotton, and
horticultural products.
“Commodity prices are up because of
two things,” Campbell said. “Number one,
it really boils down to weather, global
weather. Brazil has had some tough times
getting their corn crop to match production
of years past. Between drought and some
snow they caught – they’re fighting frost
on corn right now – it’s been tough conditions
for them.”
Last summer, as Campbell was reflecting
on the world scenario, he noted Ukraine
had been struggling with weather, and
China was having issues with droughts and
floods.
“Weather trumps all. If we have great
weather, we’ll over produce and see prices
down. If weather doesn’t cooperate in some
areas, we’ll see better prices,” he said.
And demand for protein is increasing
worldwide.
“You’re seeing those people want a better
diet, a more diverse source of protein.
People live longer, wealth is up, and they
have more money in their pocket,” he said.
Those are the positives, Campbell said.
Of course, higher commodity prices, as ag
industry insiders are aware, lead to higher
input costs. That’s a balancing act for
farmers, too.
“As farmers we always operate under the
fear of the ‘what-if.’ What if interest rates
change? What if we have overproduction
weather? Cooperative weather on a global
basis and we have all of the sudden taught
the rest of the world how to grow corn?
What if China has a great year, and Brazil
has a record year, and Ukraine pumps it out
and we have a plethora?”
It’s important to not be short-sighted.
“You have to go into it with that philosophy.
Sometimes it gets to be hard on the
ego. You think ‘I did everything right, and
the cards just didn’t play out.’ You have
to step back from it and take a long-term
view. That’s the other piece. It’s a cyclical
long-term horizon,” he said.
For Campbell, farming is the way of life.
“I enjoy the challenges and the variety
of the different tasks. I like the change
of seasons,” he said. “We enjoy our piece
in making the protein puzzle work. A lot
of what we do goes to feed people elsewhere,
and that’s an important part of
our work.” n
For derecho-hit forest
landowners, sunlight
follows the storm
Eastern Iowa Farmer photo / Brooke Taylor
Jim Piper lost a few beautiful trees on his property in northwest Clinton County to the
derecho, but, like many people with timber, he used it as an opportunity to effectively
manage timber and re-plant desirable species that will thrive in the newly-cleared canopy.
Many farmers have stands of trees on
their property. The silver lining to damage from
the August 2020 storm is an opportunity to
manage timber and re-plant desirable species.
BY Sara Millhouse
eastern iowa farmer
On Aug. 10, 2020, Rick
Springsteen “watched
28 years of work blown
away.”
His 87 acres of forest
were among the approximately
724,000 acres of Iowa forest damaged
in the derecho. Statewide, Iowa lost
about a quarter of its forest acreage,
a hard blow for timber landowners.
However, even as clean-up continues,
foresters see the silver lining in all
these downed trees.
To regenerate, forests rely on
natural disturbances, such as flooding,
fire – and storms. In other words: the
derecho was a challenge, but it’s also
an opportunity to effectively manage
timber and re-plant desirable species
that will thrive in the newly-cleared
canopy, experts said.
74 Eastern Iowa Farmer | Fall 2021 eifarmer.com
EasternIowaFarmer_Fall2021.indd 74
9/15/21 10:25 am