A few weeks ago Ted Glaub and I attended the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers meeting in San Antonio, TX. The annual conference is always an enjoyable event to visit with other rural property professionals and learn the latest trends in agriculture and agricultural asset management.
Some highlights from the meeting are as follows:
- Energy prices will be low for several years.
- 40%-50% of all transportation modes will run on liquid natural gas within the next 20 years.
- There will be less demand for bio-ethanol due to the low crude prices and abundance of ethane than can be converted into ethanol.
- Irrigation technology continues to improve so that field by field water management solutions can be adapted.
- EPA is a mortal threat to agriculture.
- Environmentalists are against mono culture production, international trade, GMOs, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO).
- Environmentalists are in favor of criminalization for CAFO and non point runoff.
- The top 10 issues facing agriculture are macroeconomic policy, immigration, energy policy, climate change, trade, biotechnology, industry consolidation, food safety and nutrition, water, and politics of the minority.
- Bioenergy feedstocks such as trees can benefit land management, air, and water.
- Technology is making the oil and gas industry safer and better environmental stewards.
- The top 3 countries with unconventional shale gas potential are the US, China, and Argentina.
By Jeffrey Hignight, Accredited Farm Manager and Real Estate Broker at Glaub Farm Management, LLC. Serving Landowners in Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.