It has become almost cliché to say that the year that is ending, has been a “strange one.” Ever since the Chinese Trade War, we have been saying that in agriculture. We were just fortunate to have the pandemic fall in 2020, and it gave us a reason to say that the years were getting more and more strange as they went along. While it may have been true three years ago, it is not necessarily true this year. It isn’t that the years are getting stranger, it has just become easier to say that than to admit that we are facing new challenges every time we go around the sun.
This ends today’s psychology lesson.
All of this aside, the agricultural industry has faced its share of challenges in 2023. Weather is first and foremost. The Eastern Corn Belt was wet, and the Western Corn Belt was dry. The state of Iowa is still dry. Even with rain and snowfall in the state, it has been hit or miss. But the drought has only been one of the newsmakers of the past year. We also saw the recurrence of HPAI or the “Bird Flu” In fact, we are still battling it right now. We are hopeful that the weather will cooperate and help shut it down for the season.
However, it hasn’t all been bad. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig talks about some of the things that we could celebrate in Iowa agriculture.
Taking those positives into consideration, Naig now looks ahead to 2024 and how we can build on those wins.
It is time to put our seatbelts on and get ready. 2024 is just around the corner.
