2022 Fall Farm Outlook

2022 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2022 Page 5 Some agricultural manufacturers are reportedly sold out for their anticipated 2023 production at this point. Many of the same issues affecting the automobile market are present in the farm equipment trade. Labor shortages, chip shortages, and transportation costs and backlogs are all affecting the availability of parts and equipment. The used equipment market also compares to what the auto market has seen. The narrowly averted rail transportation strike would have compounded availability of parts and shipment of commodities alike, not to mention the effects on the consumer goods market. Agriculture producers continue to look for opportunities to diversify their operations to improve profitability. One of the fledgling crops is hemp. Sort of. Hemp production was big in the central Illinois area during the WWII era as it was used to produce rope. It went away, and now is coming back. Maybe rope isn’t the main product produced, but research is underway on how to use the entire plant rather than just producing CBD oil. The industry is still in its infancy, and hemp is really a specialty crop at this point. As with any specialty crop, available markets are usually a challenge. When markets become more available on a local basis, the industry will grow rapidly. Let’s look forward to a safe and bountiful harvest as we finish up the 2022 growing season, and a good head start for the next year! [John Fulton]