IFA’s air of quiet confidence

IN the IFA’s farm income review, chief economist Rowena Dwyer looks ahead to the main issues for agriculture in 2012.

Not surprisingly, she is concerned at underlying uncertainties in the eurozone, weakness in the British market, and the CAP negotiations, which will intensify this year.

But she confidently predicts any easing back from the commodity price peak of 2011 should be moderate, and even holds out hope for beef prices in the EU to increase. It isn’t often that IFA gives such hostages to fortune. But that’s typical of the air of quiet confidence that can be detected throughout by reading between the lines of this document.