Robust demand suggests bet­­ter prices should be on the horizon for U.S. crops and meat, especially after recent trade deals that promised enhanced market access with some of the country’s biggest trading partners.

The problem, according to agricultural economist John Anderson, is that U.S. farmers have been increasing their production levels faster than demand has increased for the past several years.

“We’ve had (crop) production exceeding use fairly routinely (since about 2012), and we’ve built stocks in the world,” Anderson said Jan. 18 during an economic outlook at the American Farm Bureau...