Welcome to Episode #45 of the Zacks Market Edge Podcast.
Every week, host and Zacks stock strategist, Tracey Ryniec, will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life.
In this episode, Tracey is joined by Jeremy Mullin, editor of Zacks Counterstrike portfolio service.
He’s been interested in the agriculture commodities for several months. Tracey has always been a fan of the agriculture stocks.
It hasn’t been getting much play in the national press, but the farmers are in a tough spot in 2016.
In 2011 and 2012, agriculture was booming. The headlines were saying things like “you can become a millionaire farmer” or “Want to make more than a Banker? Become a Farmer.”
Farm land prices soared to new record highs as corn, wheat and soybean prices rose to new highs. It seemed like it was a new paradigm for the agriculture industry.
But those boom times have come to an end as agriculture commodity prices have hit multi-year lows. As the farmers struggle for income, they aren’t buying combines, planters or tractors either.
The downturn has trickled down into the farming equipment companies, who have been laying off workers at their manufacturing plants. In turn, that is putting pressure on the heartland towns and communities that still depend on the farming industry.
Who are the agriculture winners and losers in this down cycle?
1. Traders can make bets on the direction of the underlying commodities by trading in the Corn ETF (CORN) and Wheat ETF (WEAT).
2. Jeremy and Tracey give their opinions on the farming equipment companies like Deere (DE), AGCO (AGCO) and Titan Machinery (TITN). Are any of them deals?
3. Could there be winners with corn prices at $ 3? Jeremy and Tracey dig into Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) and Ingredion (INGR).
What else should you know about the downturn in the agriculture sector before investing in the sector?
Tune into this week’s podcast to find out.
And if you’d like to know how to play other commodities, Jeremy and Tracey delved into gold recently.
Should you invest in the yellow metal? Watch Below:
Tracey Ryniec is the Value Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. She is also the Editor of the Insider Trader and Value Investor services. You can follow her on twitter at @TraceyRyniec and she also hosts the Zacks Market Edge Podcast on iTunes.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
TITAN MACHINERY (TITN): Free Stock Analysis Report
DEERE & CO (DE): Free Stock Analysis Report
AGCO CORP (AGCO): Free Stock Analysis Report
ARCHER DANIELS (ADM): Free Stock Analysis Report
TEUCRM-CORN FD (CORN): ETF Research Reports
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Plantations International