Will farmers be affected by the downturn in the economy in 2009?

Farmers Forum asked the question. Here's what seven farmers said:

"With a poor economy, I think we’ll survive. The price of fuel has changed everyone’s attitude. When the price of fuel hit $1.40 a litre everything stopped. People just didn’t want to travel anymore. They didn’t want to spend. Everything you made went into the tank. And when the economy went down, So did the price of corn.
"Now, markets seem to have leveled off. The price of fuel is down. I think we’ll see some reasonably good profits for crops this year."
— Robert Hamilton
Dairy and cash crop
Russell, ON

"Agriculture looks pretty steady for 2009. Commodity prices have strengthened to a degree but not to where they were and we won’t see those highs we saw last year, but price will be steady. Fertilizer prices are trending downward so that will help out on the bottomline."
— John Baitley
Crop and beef farmer
Prince Edward County

"The volatility of the inputs and the markets is having an affect on the farmers. The downturn will affect them. But it is the volatility of the inputs that is having the biggest affect.
"A couple of analysts have said that things are so volatile they don’t want to say anything. I think it would be very wise for farmers to do their paper work and the budgeting well in advance of cropping this year."
— Dale Mountjoy
President of Corn Producers Association
Oshawa, ON

"Who knows what’s going to happen? There will likely be fewer packers bidding up cattle. That means lower prices."
— Kim Sytsma
Athens beef farmer and director of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association

"Not yet. But the price of fertilizer could affect the long term. Fuel prices coming down is a good thing. But fertilizer prices have to come down."
— Marcel DeGroot
Dairy farmer
Hammond, ON

"It’s going to affect (farmers) the same way it’s going to affect all consumers."
— Bette Jean Crews
OFA president
Trenton fruit, vegetable and crop farmer

"The Amercian economy has affected my business. The price for cattle and milk in the states has gone into the tank. They can’t get money together to buy cattle here. I sell dairy replacement heifers. I thought the Americans would be here and they are not coming. And today the Cdn dollar was only 83 cents U.S."
— Gord Quaile
Former dairy farmer Greely, ON