Yet farm values have held up much better than they did in the 1930s or even in the 1980s, when pricesfell by around a third in real terms as commodityprices dropped and the Federal Reserve used high interest rates to squeeze inflation out of the system.
ConAgra Foods ( CAG), for example, recently reported that its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 16%, largely because commodityprices rose while at the same time consumers were more budget-conscious.
Commodities were in focus once again, as copper and crude-oil pricesfell sharply as investors dumped assets across the commodity complex due to broad-based risk aversion and lingering concerns over growth in China.
Gold and silver prices were able to hold above unchanged on the China monetary policy tightening moves, while other commodity markets fell, due to their safe-haven investment status.
Several resource-sector shares fell, amid uncertainty over Chinese demand growth and after a firm U.S. dollar pressured commodityprices in New York Wednesday.