The Midwest is facing a severe drought that is causing corn and soybean crops to wilt under severe weather conditions.
The current temperature has exceeded records from the Dust Bowl era, and the drought is now spanning the widest area since 1956.
Commodities guru Jim Rogers, however, says while this drought is severe for those suffering from it, there are much larger problems in agriculture as a whole.
In a telephone interview he said, "the drought is a big deal if it's not raining on your farm. But it is good for farmers in other parts of the world. You can't have perfect weather conditions everywhere, every year. And with all the other problems, we're hitting trigger points."
What are these other problems?
Rogers rattled off a list. The highest rate of suicide in the UK is among farmers. The average age of farmers in Japan is 66 and the average of farmers in the U.S. is 58. In India, hundreds of thousands of farmers have committed suicide in recent years. He even noted that more people study public relations than agriculture.
Rogers said the media may be focused on the drought, but these longer-term problems that are much bigger.
"The world faces serious problems in agriculture. We are facing shortages of everything. The inventories are near historic lows so any problem will have an immediate, profound effect. We are facing a shortage of farmers so any problems will turn into even bigger.
...But any weather problems will have big effects because of the dire situation in farming. Agriculture will be one of the best sectors of the world economy for years as I have told you often."
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/jim-rogers-midwest-drought-agricutural-problems-2012-7#ixzz20t7bHaj1
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