Kent Conrad: “This is what the Wall Street Journal said: The prospect for a long boom is riveting economists because the declining…”

“This is what the Wall Street Journal said: The prospect for a long boom is riveting economists because the declining real price of grain has long been one of the unsung forces behind the development of the global economy. Thanks to steadily improving seeds, synthetic fertilizer and more powerful farm equipment, the productivity of farmers in the West and Asia has stayed so far ahead of population growth that prices of corn and wheat, adjusted for inflation, had dropped 75 percent and 69 percent, respectively, since 1974. Among other things, falling grain prices made food more affordable for the world's poor, helping shrink the percentage of the world's population that is malnourished. We never hear it from the critics, but the Wall Street Journal is reporting that one of the key reasons for the economic boom in the world is the increase in productivity in agriculture led by the West, led by our country. That amazing increase in productivity has in real terms dramatically reduced the cost of corn and wheat by 75 percent and 69 percent since 1974. I think those words should be taken to heart. U.S. agricultural policy has provided enormous advantages to all of our citizens and to the world. I cannot imagine what would happen without it.”