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
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
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Candice Hill Buchbinder
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