AGCO CEO Upcoming Interviews

Martin Richenhagen, AGCO’s Chairman, President and CEO, will be interviewed from the Business Council Meetings in Chicago, Illinois, USA today and tomorrow. You can watch him live today, Thursday, October 14, 2010 on CNBC TV at approximately 1:15 pm EST and tomorrow, Friday, October 15, 2010 on Bloomberg TV at approximately 2:45 pm EST. Check your local TV guide for channel listings. Here is some background on the state of agriculture in the United States:

“Major agricultural commodities continued their extended run-up in price, underscoring how much of America’s farm belt is booming even as the overall economy continues to struggle.

Contracts for the delivery of corn and soybeans into mid-2011 jumped Monday by 5% and 2%, respectively, after rising their daily permissible limits on Friday, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture sliced production estimates by small percentages. Cash cotton prices rose 3.3% Monday after a 3.9% gain Friday. They are 86% higher than a year ago.

For many crops, prices are climbing even as big harvests pile up, a rare combination. Farmland values are up while those for some other kinds of real estate languish. Debt on the farm is manageable. Incomes are rising.

And trade, of which many Americans are growing wary, is for agriculture a boon. Asia’s economic vigor and appetites make the farm sector’s reliance on exports—once thought a vulnerability in some quarters—a plus today.

“The farm economy is coming out of the recession far faster than the general economy,” said Don Carson, a senior analyst ” Source: Farm Economy Bounces Back – WSJ.com

How is the agriculture industry perceived in your area?