The 2007 crop season and harvest are now complete. It was a year of both promise and disappointment. Strong grain prices and optimism for high yields were dampened by early freezes and hot, dry summer growing conditions. The focus has quickly turned to planning for 2008 and future crop seasons.

"I would like to suggest that the future is bright for crop producers," says Dennis Epplin, University of Illinois Extension crop systems educator. "The United States and the world population will look to crop producers for food, feed, fiber, fuel and possibly farmaceuticals – the 5 F's."

The need for food for our growing world is ever expanding. Certainly there will be questions related to the social, economic and environmental aspects of food production.

Continued international development and improvement in economies will require more feed production. As the human diet improves, the demand for livestock will grow which, in turn, will necessitate increased feed production.

"Although traditional fiber crops like cotton are not normally found in Illinois, fiber crops are important to the nearby mid-south states," says Epplin. "New alternative fiber crops such as milkweed and industrial hemp may offer future opportunities for producers."

Crop fuel production, specifically ethanol, has been a driving force in recent corn price strength. Ethanol from corn has captured the spotlight as a domestically produced fuel with environmental benefits. Other biofuels including cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel also offer long-term potential benefits.

"Finally, farmaceuticals may bring advantages that are difficult to envision in 2007. The word farmiceutical is not a misspelling," states Epplin. "It is a word that refers to the combination of farming and pharmaceutical." Some suggest that biopharmaceuticals is the proper term, but it does not fit as well in the "5 F" theme. Targeted gene insertion into plants may allow rapid and economical production of vaccines or nutritional enhancements. Additional work is being done with livestock. More research is needed as well as a full examination by regulatory agencies.