Ten (10) Questions for 2015

[farmaholic]

Braveheart, better have lots of ammunition on hand to defend your grain stocks.

[farmaholic]

Just think how lucky you are, you have the gold AND the land to bury it on!!!

[Braveheart]

Pretty lucky so far. Every day above that land instead of below it is a good, and lucky, day..

I don't stress about foreign debt or macro economic issues because they're out of my control. We manage our own debt and our own risk.

Farming is risky business. But, no risk, no business.

[mbratrud]

Here's some leading questions for agrivillers to ponder for the year ahead.

1. With global deflationary pressures expanding and
central bankers losing their influence and power,
will interest rates rise or drop? Flat to very slightly higher

2. With a chronically high U.S. dollar, is gold now just
another currency? I don't think there is enough gold for it to be a realistic world wide currency.

3. Is the eurozone at risk of break-up? No, they cant afford to break up.

4. With Canada's recession deepening, will the BOC cut
their key bank lending rate below 1%? No

5. What will the value of the Canadian dollar be one (1)
year from now? .75 - .80

6. Is the cattle board decline of late a glancing blow or
the start of an actual correction? I believe the start of a leveling off.

7. Are historic U.S. equity market gains stemming from
real growth or a flow of global investment money? Both IMHO

8. When will the crude oil price war subside? When its below the cost of production. another $15 - $20? don't believe its more than a 6 - 12 month event though.

9. Can North American grains rally through a deflating
global commodity complex? Floor is in IMHO

10. China has taken over as the world banker. How will
this power influence their power over resources
globally? I tend to think as a growing trading partner this might not be bad for us.

Bonus question: How deep will the real estate drop be from central BC to Alberta to Saskatchewan be over the next year? less than we expect. 5 - 10% at the most, as long as our $ is weak I thing foreign investment will keep things steady.

Realize there are many more questions. Add more . . .


Of course these are mostly stabs in the dark, I am far from a futurist, too many moving parts. but will be fun to look back in a year.

[Braveheart]

In terms of commodity grain and oilseed markets and global monetary issues, haven't some of our best run ups come on the heels of or during financial and capital meltdowns in the last decade?

[tubs]

all these questions but how will they affect my farm world economy is in deep trouble but i have thought that for the last 5 years but they have been great for farmers you should have alisten to Jim Rickards doom and gloom

[foragefarmer]

Diversification is the key to keep farm, personal, and business safe. That includes crops, farmland, stocks and bonds, real estate other than farm.

Pay off debt and live within your means. All very simple to do if your discipline. I KNOW it's hard, but must be done to survive.

The factors listed above in the questions are out of our control.

The doom sayers have been preaching the shoe is going to fall off the other foot in Canadian housing market and stock markets for the pass five years. Those who believed them, have been missed out on the best run up in history. They're all just guessing when it's going to happen. So when it does, and if they are with in a couple of months of the occurance they can say I told you so.

Sure there will always be corrections, always have and always will be, but they only last so long. Look at 2008-09 came it has comeback.

[cottonpicken]

So forage in the nineties when the tequila crisis hit was it better them Mexicans to be right a few years early or a day late?the government lied right to the peoples faces up until the moment it happened.

[checking]

5. What will be the value of the Canadian dollar one year from now. Answer: $1.00 Canadian.

Bucket, as usual, is right.

The rest doesn't matter a fig to me.

[grassfarmer]

3. Is the eurozone at risk of break-up?

What I hear talk of from Europe is a scaling back of involvement with the central body. Countries like the UK looking to remain in the EU for the benefits of a common market (which is all it was intended to be originally) but opt out of the common currency and the political nonsense of a bureaucrat run "central" government that has more power than each individual country.
I think that is the logical way forward for Europe. It never made sense to tie the economies of Germany and Greece together through the Euro and pretend they were equal partners in the EU.