wfn.org | ELCA Council Gets Update on Agricultural Economics

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 15, 1999

ELCA COUNCIL GETS UPDATE ON AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
99-15-098-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- At its November 1998 meeting, the Church
Council
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) expressed concern
about the declining health of the U.S. agricultural economy.  Dr.
Annette Citzler, an economist from Texas Lutheran University (TLU),
Seguin, Texas, provided the council with details about U.S.
agriculture
when it met here April 9-12.
     In the past year, prices for many commodities fell to record low
levels, threatening the livelihoods of many producers, said Citzler,
dean of arts, humanities and social sciences at TLU an ELCA
university.
     Income, supply, price and export fluctuations are key reasons for
the differences in the health of the nation's agricultural economy
when
compared to the overall U.S. economy, she told the council.
     The financial performance of the agricultural sector has been
"erratic," Citzler said. During the previous 10 years, there was a
"significant difference" in the experience of the agricultural economy
and the overall economy, she said.
     Variation in agricultural income is tied to fluctuations in
production, such as production of grains.  From 1988 to 1996 U.S.
farmers have produced as little as 200 million metric tons per year of
grains to as much as 350 million per year, Citzler said.  And, while
U.S. cattle production from 1989 to 1998 has been relatively stable,
the
dollars generated from the sales of livestock have fluctuated
considerably, she said.
     U.S. agricultural exports have risen steadily from 1988 to1996,
but the value of those exports has fluctuated for a variety of reasons
tied to the global situation in agriculture, Citzler said.
     What causes the fluctuations?  Citzler attributed the causes to
weather patterns, "over which farmers have no control," and consumer
responses to prices and income, she said.
     "If consumers have a 10 percent increase in income, they are not
going to spend 10 percent more for food," she said.
     Possibilities for improving U.S. agriculture include a return to
price supports, guaranteed income programs, year-to-year revenue
"smoothing," mandatory crop insurance programs and forming a marketing
board for all significant agricultural commodities.
     The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as
the legislative authority of the church between its meetings of the
Churchwide Assembly.  Assemblies are held every other year; the next
is
August 16-22 in Denver.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html