Last night on TheBlaze TV, Jim Rogers gave a pretty bleak outlook on future of the U.S. economy. But there was a bright light for one small (and shrinking) portion of the population: the American farmer.
This morning, after recapping the plans the President laid out in his SOTU on Tuesday — spend, spend, and spend — Glenn spoke to his listeners about what the future looks like to him and one of the best investments he thinks Americans should consider looking into.
"What's the best investment you can make?" Glenn asked.
Glenn has talked about how he invests his money for years, always reminding his audience that what's best for him may not be right for you and your family. Among these investments is gold. But for the average family, the window on buy gold has closed. The price has risen well over 300% is the last five to ten years. But this morning, gold wasn't the commodity Glenn was focused on.
"I've told you for awhile that there were going to be food shortages. I've told you that food prices are going to go through the roof. I've told you that the average age of a farmer worldwide is 58. In ten years from now they're going to be nearing 70," he explained. "Who's replacing them? Who's studying farming?"
The answer is, not near as many people as the industry will probably need.
Most agricultural studies are focusing more on the environment than they are crop production.
"Who's going out and saying, 'Yeah, I need to learn about the soil because I'm going to be a farmer. I'm going to own my own tractor and I'm going to start my own farm.' Who does that?" Glenn asked. "Who grows up in a farming family and says, 'This is the life for me'? The Amish? And who else?"
Glenn and Jim Rogers discussed the direction of agriculture yesterday on radio:
"So who does it? Nobody. Nobody's doing it," Glenn said. "The real growth, if you are somebody who's thinking about going to college and you don't know what to do, go into farm studies."
If what Glenn's believes is going to happen to our currency does happen, the Wall Streeters of the next generation — maybe even of this generation — are going to be in a world of hurt.
"The farmers will be the ones who control the world," Glenn explained.
There is an article on TheBlaze.com right now that lays out what exactly is happening with the price of farmland in the U.S. It's clear why Glenn is encouraging more people to look into farming and farmland.
“Farm income and land values were boosted by high crop prices and high crop insurance payments. In North and South Dakota, land lease revenue increased thanks to the region’s energy deposits,” Business Insider notes.“Bankers in the Corn Belt and Central Plains reported strong annual increases. Meanwhile in Texas, where growing conditions were poor, farmland values increased a modest 2.6 percent year-over-year,” the report adds.
And that’s not all: For the remainder of FY2013, analysts expect farmland values to grow — and grow some more.
The report from TheBlaze explains that non-irrigated cropland in the United States is skyrocketing in value: Monatana is up 10%; Wyoming, Colorado, northern New Mexico, 18%; North Dakota, 30%; South Dakota, 30%; Nebraska, 30%; Kansas, 22%; Oklahoma 12%; Western Missouri, 22%; Iowa, 18%; Minnesota, 26.9%; Northern Illinois, 15%.; Northern Louisiana, 15%; Southern Wisconsin, 8%; Northern Indiana, 11%; and Texas farmland, 2.6%.
Glenn emphasized, "do not listen to me for investment advice, but also don't listen to anybody who refuses to think out of the box."
He reminded his audience that the people involved in investments they're making — retirement or otherwise — makes money by managing your stuff. They're incentivized to keep your money where it is. And while the stock market may go up, it's built on sand. At some point, because the value of the dollar is going down, you're going to pull your money out and it's not going to hold real value.
"I'd rather be able to grow my own food, thank you very much," Glenn said. "It's not for everybody but, boy, there's a great story on TheBlaze.com now on farmland. What is happening with farmland?"