As government interference in systems increases their volatility rises. They are no longer tethered to reality. It isn't that reality is placid and reliable and so protected from volatility, it's that government interference makes things worse. You have risk either way, but attempts to reduce risk by inserting extraneous ungrounded factors increases risk. For example:

Corn prices climbed to nearly $8 a bushel in futures markets this summer amid strong global demand that pushed gasoline to almost $4 a gallon. But pump prices have since tumbled to nearly $2 a gallon as a credit crisis and looming recession put the brakes on driving.

Irwin says corn prices have mirrored that slide, falling to about $4 a bushel. He predicts prices will likely hover there until the economy rebounds from a recession that could be the nation's deepest since World War II. . .

Despite the dramatic slide, Irwin says corn prices remain well ahead of the $2.42 a bushel average from 1973 to 2006, when ethanol demand paved the way for two of the most profitable years ever for grain farmers. . .

But he predicted better-than-expected profits for livestock farmers, thanks to lower feed costs as ethanol scaled down grain prices.

"One of the really interesting things that has happened in the last month-and-a-half is how the relative fortunes of crop and livestock producers have reversed at head-snapping speed" . . .

Growers of field crops and livestock that failed to switch from farming to government rent seeking get hammered too. The whole system becomes utterly irrational. Stability - or at least limited and natural volatility - is the friend of agronomic systems. It takes time for changes to bear fruit - literally. You incur expenses when crops are started but don't see income until they are harvested. For annual field crops this may seem manageable - a matter of months - but there is still great risk. For orchards, vineyards and livestock operations the time lag can be far greater.

I haven't yet been affected, but it's all the talk on some of the ag lists. You might have some inkling of the issue from reports of trouble for high end retailers such as Whole Foods Market (a.k.a Whole Paycheck). As food prices rose people balked at spending so much and sought cheaper sources, and after the economy tanked the problems got worse.

My livestock prices haven't changed since I'm not directly involved with crops and grains as inputs, I use fertilizer (and all other petrol associated products) sparingly, and long ago chose the low production cost route to increased net profits. My grass is not only greener, it's cheaper.

Still, I mourn the death of anticipated future profits that might well have come had the economy stayed up and commodity prices soared.