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Trends in Midwestern ag, navigating uncertainty

Farm Credit cooperative Compeer Financial CEO Rod Hebrink says Midwestern farmers continue to navigate uncertainty and recover from covid-related challenges.

“Last March and April we were looking at an outlook that was really pretty dismal for many of our commodities and since that time a lot of areas have recovered,” he says. “Dairy prices have moved from a low of $13 back up to into the $20-range. We were concerned about the ability to have a place to go with livestock and that’s largely been resolved.”

And he says some growers had to change the way they do business.

“I think that’s been one of the uniquenesses of the ability of so many farms all along the food chain to show resiliency to adjust rapidly to the circumstances,” he says. 

For example, Hebrink says, dairy producers providing products to the food service industry had to quickly make adjustments and find new outlets for products when the food service industry shut down.

Brownfield interviewed Hebrink during NAFB Trade Talk.