Expect the Federal Re­­serve to continue to tighten down the U.S. money supply growth in 2017, and as a result, short-term interest rates will rise.

Very few economists are predicting a farming free-fall comparable to the 1930s or 1980s. However, most farmers should expect some tough sledding ahead, especially those operations that are undercapitalized. The outlook appears not to be a full-blown "farm crisis" impacting all farms but more of a "liquidity crisis" impacting a small but growing percentage of farms.

Currently, the U.S. economy and expansion of global trade face a lot of uncertainty. Profit...