David Widmar, an agricultural economist with Agricultural Economic Insights. (Photo from www.aei.ag)
2023 and the ag economy combine to produce some trepidation as we look to next year. While the ag economy is doing okay despite several challenges like supply chain delays and high input costs, the question is how long this will last into next year. I talked with David Widmar, an agricultural economist with Agricultural Economic Insights in West Lafayette, Indiana.
There are no doubts that commodity prices are showing a lot of volatility at the end of this year, and Widmar says that’s causing a lot of angst. However, it’s generally still a positive story in the farm economy. But what’s ahead next year?
“We do expect that positive story to continue into 2023,” he said during the 2022 National Association of Farm Broadcasting’ annual convention in Kansas City. “One of the biggest reasons why is tight commodity inventories across all commodities in the U.S. and globally.”
The problem is when things get tight for corn, soybeans, and wheat, we really can’t substitute one crop for another. All of those crops will want to maintain their acreage shares. The idea of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” won’t work.
“We can’t plant fewer corn acres to make up for soybeans or vice versa,” he said. “So, everything is tight, and that will continue to be part of the narrative going into 2023.
“We know one thing about2023,” Widmar added. “There will come a point when we oversupply. We’ll bring in new production acres around the world, including South America, Southeast Asia, India, and hopefully Russia and Ukraine in the long term.”
The other thing that will eventually affect the markets is the possibility of big yields. There’s been a recent run of average to slightly below-average U.S. corn yields. “Eventually, more acres and yields will push us over again.”
Here’s the entire conversation during the NAFB’s Trade Talk event in Kansas City.
Archaeology.. the term makes me think of Indiana Jones. That shows my age, doesn’t it? Well, as hard as it may be to believe, that’s not real life. However, I know someone who’s living the adventure (without the bullwhip).
Chatfield native Paige Brevick is living what can only be called an adventurous life. She’s a recent graduate of the University of Memphis with a master’s degree in Egyptian Art and Archaeology. Brevick has worked in faraway places like India and Israel over the course of her studies and will continue globe-hopping when she studies for her doctorate at the University College London in England. How does a small-town girl from Chatfield get to travel the world as she studies to be an archaeologist?
Paige Brevick of Chatfield, MN, is unearthing skeletons at Thornton Abbey in England. These bodies are part of a mass burial site for black plague victims. (Contributed photo)
“That’s a really good question,” she said with an infectious
laugh. “A lot of people ask me that. I’ve always loved the stories that objects
tell about people and the cultures that made those items. As a kid, I was
interested in arts, museums, the outdoors, and that sense of adventure, so
archaeology seemed like a natural career choice.”
Brevick said she had no idea that archaeology was a “real job you could have” until she got to college. While growing up as a youngster in Chatfield, her parents took her to a lot of different museums. She describes herself as “always excited” to turn the corner in a museum and find an Egyptian gallery or see some Asian art. “That’s where the curiosity got started,” she said.
Archaeology Studies Begin
Her secondary education started at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. “My degree there was in Religion and I spent a lot of time studying the Hebrew Bible. It was in those early religion classes that I became interested in Near Eastern archaeology. Even though my degree was in religion, I got to study abroad quite a bit.
“I lived in India for a while,” she recalled. “After that, I studied public archaeology and what the community involvement was in museums across Maharashtra and South India. I saw people there who were passionate about their heritage and where they came from. It was a great place to It was a great place to study because India is full of ancient sites, temples, and history.”
A lack of what she called archaeological “site management” triggered an interest in protecting those sites and the antiquities that were being found. The trip to India was her first journey overseas and eye-opening in many different ways. What was it like for a Midwestern gal to step off the plane into a foreign country for the very first time?
Paige is seen here while working at a dig site in Tigray Province, Ethiopia. (Contributed photo)
“It was exhilarating,” she said with a giggle. “It’s quite a
country to jump into for my first overseas experience. It’s overwhelming
because Mumbai is so loud. The city was so loud and packed with people. It’s
not a surprise that it was more people than I’d seen in my entire life.”
The trip to India triggered her interest in a career in “heritage management,” which she’s currently working in. She says it’s all about the running of an archaeological site and how to go about involving the community in that preservation. Rather than having archaeologists come into the site and then leave, it’s about how to create something sustainable with the community. Brevick hopes to facilitate relationships between archaeologists, museums, and communities.
Masters degree in archaeology
She recently wrapped up a three-year stay at the University
of Memphis, her second stop in secondary education. Brevick said it’s one of
the few programs in the country that offer a master’s degree in Egyptian
studies and archaeology. Egypt is a major part of her long-term interest in
studying the near East. Brevick’s acquired some unique skills while studying
for her master’s degree.
“I got to study hieroglyphs,” she said. “I can now read Middle Egyptian, which are the glyphs you may see on objects or in museums. It took a lot of time and practice to learn Middle Egyptian, but it’s really been rewarding. You really don’t meet a lot of people who can say they’ve learned hieroglyphs.”
She also spent time working at a dig site in Lalibela, Ethiopia, where they found a church that had been completely carved in stone. (contributed photo)
Brevick has had a couple of opportunities to head to Egypt
and see things firsthand. In a case of real life getting in the way, one of her
trips was canceled because of safety concerns. Brevick found out firsthand that
she’ll have to be “flexible” to succeed as an archaeologist. Funding issues can
cause challenges, as can real-world dangers on the ground. Even after all the
delays, she’s hopeful of getting to Egypt within the next year.
She’s lived for a short time in other places overseas, including Ethiopia. “I was there doing a study abroad class through Cornell,” she recalled. “We traveled all over the country and visited several sites, including the rock-hewn churches in Lalibela. I also lived in the Bahamas for a month and studied anthropology.”
Digging up plague victims
Personally, her most interesting experience to date took
place in England. “I was just a student and only stayed there for a couple of
weeks,” Brevick said. “I got to work on a black plague mass-burial site at
Thornton Abbey. It’s so different from what I normally do but I wanted some
bio-archaeology experience.
“The site was very unusual because we don’t normally find
mass burial sites,” she added. “In this case, there were about 50 bodies buried
there. It was a very humbling experience because you saw what the community had
been through. They were hit so hard by the plague.”
The adventure will soon continue in London, where she’s off to study for her Ph.D. Brevick was there for a short time last year to interview with the faculty at the school and found the experience a little overwhelming because of the “hustle-and-bustle of the city.” She said this is her next step in a new adventure.
Paige is standing outside the Ajanta Caves in India. (Contributed photo)
“I’ll be at University College London,” she explained. “They were just ranked third in the world when it comes to archaeological studies. I’ll be working on a heritage management project which will be launched in Egypt. My doctoral dissertation will identify and develop co-creative heritage management strategies. I’m really interested in the relationships between archaeologists, museums, and the local communities they are working in and for.
“Rather than only advocate for more community engagement,” she said, “I think museums have a responsibility to go into their communities and ask community leadership what it is they need from the museum.”
Career goals in archaeology?
After all the education is finally finished, what are her long-term career goals?
“I think I’d like to stick with museums,” Brevick said. “I
think that’s perfect for my personality. Anything that would allow me to
continue advocating for archaeology cultural heritage. I feel honored and
grateful to be doing what I’m doing.”
The Apostles of Jesus had it tougher than we do in America. They had it tougher than we ever will. Here is what convinced me that the Gospel is real. Would this many people have voluntarily died HORRIBLE deaths for a Gospel that wasn’t true? Absolutely not. Give this a run-through and then really think hard about the implications here.
The apostles were not educated people. The apostles were everyday working folks who were far from perfect. But if they can lead people to Jesus, why can’t we?
1. Matthew. Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, Killed by a sword wound.
2. Mark. Died in Alexandria, Egypt , after being dragged by Horses through the streets until he was dead.
The Apostles suffered and died in horrible ways in order to spread the Gospel. Would you or anyone you know be willing to die a death like this for something that you didn’t believe in and KNOW in your heart wasn’t true? Of course not. (photo from Facebook.com)
3. Luke. Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous Preaching to the lost.
4. John. Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge Basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution In Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered From death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos . The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve As Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey . He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully
5. Peter. He was crucified upside down on an x shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die In the same way that Jesus Christ had died.
6. James. The leader of the church in Jerusalem , was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller’s club.
This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.
7. James the Son of Zebedee was a fisherman by trade when Jesus Called him to a lifetime of ministry.
As a strong leader of the church, James was beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial.
Later, the officer Walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and Knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.
8. Bartholomew. Also known as Nathaniel. He Was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.
9. Andrew. He Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony.
His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words, “I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it”. He continued to preach to his tormentors For two days until he expired.
10. Thomas. He Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the Subcontinent.
11. Jude. He Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.
12. Matthias. The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot. He was stoned and then beheaded.
13. Paul. He Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.
Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor to compare to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles and disciples during their times for the sake of the Faith. Jesus said, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: But he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”
Do we have the kind of faith to get through persecution (which WILL come to us all) as the apostled did? Probably not. But God promises to give us strength in times of trouble. Jesus says, “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” Do you believe that or not? There is no “maybe.”
Pass on to encourage other Christians. Why Do we feel sleepy in Prayer, but stay awake through a 3 hour movie (I do that all the time)? Why are we so bored when we look at the HOLY BOOK. But find it easy to read other books?
Why is it so easy to ignore a message about God, yet we forward the nasty ones?
Why are prayers getting smaller but bars and clubs are expanding.
Why is it so easy to worship a celebrity but very difficult to engage with God?
Make this message your contribution to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
