Farmers are facing another year of low crop prices and hard economic decisions unless there’s a serious crop failure somewhere or a breakthrough in trade negotiations with China, Texas A&M Extension economist Joe Outlaw said last week at the 2019 Iowa Farm Bureau annual meeting in Des Moines.

“I think we are in a ‘hunker down’ mode. Margins are razor thin,” he said. “Until there’s a (crop) problem somewhere around the world, hopefully Brazil, I don’t see prices going up. The question is are you prepared to live with flat crop prices for a while.” 

Iowa farmers are in the best position of...