Recent conversations with an associate farming and living in Brazil underscored a number of concerns that will eventually have a negative impact on crop production.I had a lengthy conversation with an associate who has been farming in Brazil for more than 20 years and is now a permanent resident there. This was the second such discussion in the past three weeks. He's a little on edge over the political and economic climate and how it is affecting farmers. Here are some of his talking points:

There is no money in Brazil today. The ongoing currency devaluation is causing economic chaos. The real has devalued 40 percent in the last year. It has become almost impossible for farmers to obtain financing in reals to plant crops that trade in t...