Demand for Iowa's Agricultural Products

Demand is a subject talked about a lot in agricultural circles-moving farm products through wholesalers to retail markets, demand can shift based on economic conditions, trade policies, and consumer tastes and preferences. For the livestock side of agriculture, demand is typically evaluated at two levels-the wholesale level for animals and retail level for meat. For livestock, demand is usually measured in terms of inflation-adjusted value of the industry. For meat, demand is measured in terms of inflation-adjusted value of per capita meat consumption. For crops, tracked by the bushel, demand is measured at the product's first use. As a regular feature of the Ag Policy Review, we will track agricultural demands for livestock and crops and explore the reasons for shifts in demand. First, we will look back over the last decade to see how agricultural demand has already changed.