VIENNA — The Maries County Farm Bureau hosted its annual meeting and dinner on Oct. 5 at the Vienna-Bassett Eagles Club.

The meeting drew a large crowd of Maries County Farm Bureau members and guests. State representatives Bennie Cook and Bill Hardwick were among the people attending the meeting. Ray Schwartze, a field representative for State Sen. Justin Brown, attended on behalf of the senator.

A few members of the larger Missouri Farm Bureau group made remarks at the beginning of the meeting. Regional Coordinator Nick Roberts complimented the Maries County Farm Bureau Board and how it works with the state board. He also commended the office staff for their work.

Roberts also talked about membership in Maries County. For the 34th consecutive year, the Maries County Farm Bureau has met its membership quota. Dent County is the only county in Roberts’ 19-county area that has a better streak.

Amy Jo Estes, the at-large representative on the Missouri Farm Bureau Board for residents south of the Missouri River, talked about her role as the chair of the bureau’s Promotion in Education Committee.

Estes said in October some of the teachers in the state had an opportunity to take a farm tour and see different agricultural operations in Kansas City and find new ways to incorporate agriculture into the classroom. The committee also works with educators during Farm Safety Week in September. Other committee activities include coordinating Thank a Farmer Week events in March and getting educational materials to classrooms.

Scott Brown, an associate agricultural economics professor with the University of Missouri Extension, was the featured speaker for the meeting. He began by saying that though he had studied the market outlook, there is always uncertainty in the future. His forecast for the market could miss some things.

Brown said he thought the overall market outlook for agricultural products was good for the future. His biggest concern is that expenses will continue to rise while receipts stay lower. He advised attendees to pay attention to the downside risk.

In the global crop market, Brown predicted growth in consumption of agricultural products would come from outside the United States rather than from within the country. He said producers should not forget about global competition in the crop market. South American countries have contributed to the global growth of the market.

In the beef market, production is projected to decrease between 4 and 5 percent in 2023. Brown said 2024 would likely be the same. Production cuts of that significance rarely happen in back-to-back years, which is why Brown remains optimistic about the outlook for cattle prices.

Brown said another agricultural economist had taught him to never over-project a price, so he said he liked to keep his projections modest. The risk of a recession has him more concerned about income implications for products than price. Exports have already faltered this year because of high prices and the addition of new countries to various markets.

At the end of his presentation, Brown displayed his contact information and let the crowd know that he might not be the right person with the university to answer their questions, but he would connect them with the right person.

The meeting also included the election of board members. Sandra Kloeppel and Lynn Davis each had expiring terms. Adam Meyer was finishing out the term of Glenn Dressendofer after being appointed to the seat at last year’s meeting.

Davis and Meyer both received nominations for new terms on the board. Kaitlyn Hayes was also nominated. Members approved all three nominations.

At the end of the meeting, names were drawn for attendance prizes.