Monsanto has struggled in recent quarters to deal with slumping corn prices in the U.S., which have reduced demand for its best-selling product: genetically enhanced corn seeds. Click here for full story.
http://www.capitalpress.com/Business/20151007/monsanto-to-eliminate-2600-jobs-following-4q-loss
The USDA study predicts nearly 58,000 job openings annually through 2020 in food, agriculture, natural resources and environmental fields – and not nearly enough college graduates to fill them. For more information visit www.capitalpress.com
A new impact study shows Idaho's wine industry brought in almost $170 million to Idaho's economy in 2013. It was also responsible for 1,226 full-time equivalent jobs. Click here for the full story
Regional agricultural college leaders say job opportunities abound for their graduates, but they're having trouble keeping up with demand by the industry. Click here for the full story
Total farming jobs in Idaho have barely budged in two decades while the number of total state jobs has increased significantly. But economists say that's a good thing and shows the industry has become more efficient. Click here for the full story
The Capital Press is looking for an Idaho-based reporter to cover agriculture issues in the state and throughout the West. See the job posting here on JournalismJobs.com.
A community in Oregon of approx. 9,000 people is about to feel the impact of a national problem: The sales of new homes is down to a 13-year low, and analysts say this slump could last from 2006 to 2009, according to an Associated Press story.
Meanwhile, according to the Statesman Journal newspaper today, “Champion Enterprises notified Silverton's mayor that it would shut down its Redman Housing plant by May 23” in Silverton, Ore. When the company that builds manufactured homes closes, it will cost about 160 jobs to the community.
While the city hopes another business will buy the manufacturing facilities and generate other jobs, this may be a sign of bigger problems down the road: A recession on its way.
“Many analysts believe the (housing) slump could combine with a multitude of other problems including a severe credit crunch, soaring energy prices and plunging consumer confidence, to push the country into a full-blown recession,” said AP.
Large companies in small towns mean jobs, and when those businesses close down, their impact is huge, not just for those directly who are employed, but for all the other benefits and money injected into the community.
Outside of Silverton, other natural resource industries and businesses will also be watching closely what happens with housing across the country. For example, the slower sale of new homes will hit the timber and nursery industries that supply materials and landscaping to these new homes.
The Western states are supposedly not facing the housing crisis as badly as other states. “Sales dropped the most in the Northeast, falling by 40.6 percent. Sales were also down in the Midwest, dropping by 6.4 percent, but posted gains in the South of 5.7 percent and 0.7 percent in the West,” reported AP.
I’d be curious to hear from our blog readers in other parts of the country on what they are seeing in their communities, especially in how it may affect their rural areas and agricultural businesses.
