Greg Pinelli

The Ag Industry: Another Credit Crisis Casualty?

There's a series of pernicious assumptions in this analysis..first, that emerging market producers have the capacity and know how to take credit and translate it into efficient, profitable market operations. They are EMERGING for a reason..infrastructure issues (not the least of which includes transport)..political issues..knowledge and implementation issues..water issues..and last but not least...repayment issues.
The real ag game is being played on the nation state front..countries that have either trashed or never had suitable growing environments are buying huge chunks of arable land in African countries for instance..This is a VERY two edged sword..He who sells can also take back.
You may have a certain point to make..however..you have NO investible ideas! This is an INVESTMENT blog...comprende???

Heavy Rains Hurting Corn and Soybean Yields, Raising Prices

It was "dust bowl" and resulted not from land lying idle or fallow...but from tremendous over cultivation..then drought..then havoc from midwestern wind storms.
I'd be thrilled to see the government out of the farming business altogether..let ethanol (corn based) rise or fall on its own merits..eliminate the insane sugar tariffs on Brazilian product and begin to use a product that gives much more energy out for the energy used to produce.
Corn is very hard on the land...fertilizer intensive and leaves the overwroked soil susceptible to erosion. You'd think someone from the Midwest would know that.

Jim Cramer on How to Profit From the Agriculture Boom

Hard to disagree with the commentors..this is old stuff. And the outsized profits have already been made. A bit of original thought would have been appreciated..in fact, any would have been welcome. Cramer is a one note investment shock artist..a kind of guru for those with limited attention spans.
My suggestions go in a different direction....toward resource and transport infrastructure. Look for an article this week.

Is Agriculture the New Global Warming Bad Guy?

Two themes working at once..first, the effect of deforestation on global greenhouse gas emissions and second a collapse of commodity prices coming to an economy near you soon.
As to the first...I suggest you protest to the governments involved. The latest ploy is for countries with ecologically critical areas to agree not to develop them in exchange for fees..paid of course by first world countries.
The second issue..a commodity collapse..means a severe worldwide recession or depression. Since China and India and other developing countries have huge commodity demands this certainly means an ugly time for their massive unemployed populations.
Of course..the second event takes care of the first. Am not sure if this is a caution or part of a general wish list on your part. In any case...not a single useful, investible idea in the article. In other words..useless.