Milling & Baking News - January 12, 2021 - 10

Editorial

Continued from Page 7

site, with page views up 27% and topping 7.6 million. All
told, web page views in 2020 across all SPC websites exceeded 15.6 million, up 31% and demonstrating the ravenous appetite for timely information across the industries
served by Sosland Publishing.
While the growth in page views has been remarkable, a
major focus in 2020 was building the company's " known
audience, " visitors who have registered and allow us to
see what role readers play in the industry. From a year-end
known audience of 131,197 in 2019, SPC set an ambitious
target of 168,720 (29% growth) for the end of the year, but
actually ended at 198,922 as of Dec. 28, a remarkable 52%
jump. Bringing this larger group into focus offers benefits
to our editors as they fine-tune coverage priorities and advertisers, as they gain a clearer picture than ever of who
is reading our articles and viewing advertisements. It was
with an eye to meet the changing needs of advertisers that
SPC welcomed in 2020 Jim Saladin as the company's first
chief marketing officer.
Major initiatives are on tap for 2021. Two years after

the successful introduction of Pet Food Processing (which
was the company's first magazine launch in more than a
decade), SPC in the new year will introduce Dairy Processing, covering the multi-billion dollar dairy foods market.
In addition to the magazine (with a first issue to publish
in April), Dairy Processing will have a dedicated website, enewsletters and other digital products.
Closer to home, Milling & Baking News will undergo its
first magazine redesign since the early 2000s. The redesign
will be launched ahead of the magazine's and the company's 100th anniversary in 2022.
Like so many companies in the food industry, Sosland
Publishing endured its share of setbacks in the year just
ended, and it would be disingenuous to say our businessto-business publishing company enters 2021 without concern about the challenges that lie ahead. Still, thanks to the
extraordinary efforts of our remarkable staff along with the
investments we have made to meet the demanding expectation of readers and advertisers, we greet 2021 resolutely
committed to serving the grain-based foods and food processing industries at a higher level than ever. MBN

Business

Advances in grain prices boosted
US producer optimism in December

10 / January 12, 2021

Milling & Baking News

Capital Investment Index increased 13
points in December to a record high of 93.
The percentage of farmers expecting to increase their machinery purchases in the upcoming year rose 5 points to 15%, while the
percentage expecting to reduce their purchases declined by the same amount.
They were also bullish about farmland
values and cash rental rates. In December, the percentage of farmers expecting

March soybean futures
$14.50
$12.65
per bu

WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. - US producer sentiment improved modestly in
the final month of 2020, according to the
latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag
Economy Barometer.
The barometer increased 7 points from
November to a reading of 174. Both the
barometer's sub-indices - the Index of
Current Conditions and the Index of Future Expectations - were also higher in
December than in November. The Index of
Current Conditions climbed 15 points to
202, and the Index of Future Expectations
increased by 5 points to a reading of 161.
The Ag Economy Barometer is calculated each month from 400 US agricultural
producers' responses to a telephone survey. The December survey was conducted from Dec. 7-11.
" The rise in the Ag Economy Barometer was primarily driven by farmers' perception that the current situation on their
farms really improved, " said James Mintert, the barometer's principal investigator and director of Purdue University's
Center for Commercial Agriculture. " The
sharp rise in the Index of Current Conditions is correlated with the farm income
boost provided by the ongoing rally in
crop prices. That appears to be the driving force behind producers' optimism. "
Producers noticeably were more inclined
to think now is a good time to make large
investments in their farming operations
than in November. Meanwhile, the Farm

$10.80
$8.95
$7.10
Jan. Mar. May
2020

July Sept. Nov.

Jan.
2021

farmland values to rise over the next year
increased 9 points from November to a
reading of 35. The percentage expecting
farmland values to rise over the next five
years increased 11 points from November
to an all-time survey high of 65%.
Reflecting the improvement in crop production profitability, more producers said
they expect farmland cash rental rates to
rise in 2021 when compared to survey results from late summer. In December, 18%
of respondents said they expect cash rental
rates to rise in 2021, double the percentage

who felt that way in August and September. Moreover, it's clear that any downward pressure on cash rental rates evident
earlier in the year has nearly disappeared,
as just 5% of farmers said they expect to
see cash rental rates decline in 2021 compared to 17% who felt that way in August.
Farmers were less optimistic when
asked about the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China. In the
first quarter of 2020, an average of 76% of
respondents thought the trade dispute's
ultimate resolution would favor US agriculture. By spring that average declined
to 62%, and by December it dropped to an
all-time survey low of 47%. When asked
whether they expect US ag exports to increase over the next five years, only 51% of
respondents in December said they expect
to see export growth.
To learn more about what factors might
be motivating the shift in producers' sentiment pre- and post-November election,
a series of questions focused on producers' future expectations for environmental regulations, taxes and other key aspects of the agricultural economy, were
included on the October, November and
December surveys. In December, farmers
continued to express concerns following
the November election about several key
policy issues affecting agriculture. More
than 80% of farmers said they expect environmental regulations to become more
restrictive in December, compared to 41%
who felt that way in October. More than
70% of producers expect to see higher income and estate taxes compared to 35%
and 40%, respectively, in October. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - January 12, 2021

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