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Agriculture has traditionally benefitted from a lack of the partisan wrangling that infects most other aspects of U.S. society. In fact, one could say that ag policy was one of the last bastions of bipartisanship and statesmanship, helped by the fact that the farm lobby and the farm coalition saw the necessity of working together. That fell apart with the more partisan nature of Washington, however, and such divisive issues as ethanol subsidies which benefited one farm sector at the expense of another....More

The reaction in the markets to the electoral results in Europe this week was probably well-founded, as the results, which tended to reject the austerity measures needed to rein in huge budget deficits, are likely a bad sign for a hoped-for economic recovery. It will be interesting, and telling, to watch if the U.S. electorate embarks on a similar course in the November elections....More