It's been a tough year for UK plc and as the English Food and Farming Partnership (EFFP) annual conference looked forward to the coming year one thing was clear - nobody is quite sure what lies ahead.
Yes there are so-called 'green shoots' starting to sprout.
But as the Government admits it must pump further billions into the banking sector it is clear all will not be well for some time to come.
EFFP chief executive Sion Roberts described a 'new normal' following the deepest recession in living memory.
This, he said would see growth but at a very slow rate which could mean years before we catch up with the rate of economic growth pre-2007.
For consumers there is good news as food price inflation is expected to drop.
That's inflation by the way, not prices - they will continue to rise but not as fast as they were before the recession.
Despite the rises though, food prices are as affordable in real terms - taking into account higher earnings, inflation and all that - than they were 20 years ago.
All in all a very complicated set of figures.
For farmers though the poor exchange rate and the low interest rates brought on by the recession have brought some benefits, but as NFU president Peter Kendall told the conference, it is now time farmers began preparing for the years that lie ahead.
There is no certainty where prices are concerned and while the 2007 spike in commodity prices was a freak event we can expect to see a range of peaks and troughs over the coming years.
There will be years of plenty and years of famine.
Preparing for that is a hard task, and one many farmers will be scratching their heads over.
But regardless of the ups and downs of the economy, one thing remains certain and that is if farmers look after their businesses, get the best deals on inputs and strip out unnecessary costs they will be as prepared as they can be.
