in afternoon trading, agco shares a little bit lower by 3%.irst on cnbc is chairman and ceo martin richenhagen. good to see you. >> good day from atlanta. >> congratulations. i'd like to begin with a question about europe where the region that includes europe, you call it the middle east africa, and europe, saw gains of 32% when you sweat out any currency changes. why was europe's stronger than many of us would have expected for you? >> the farm income for european farmers was pretty strong. commodity prices were high. less volatile than in the past. and european farmers made a lot of money. they have de-leveraged their firms and they're willing to invest this year. >> that sector of the economy in europe, unlike the financial sector, has de-leveraged and is in good shape. how do you see it now for 2012? >> well, i'm very positive and bullish. and actually the rapidly growing world population, changing diets in emerging markets, renewable fuels, they really help and demand is stronger than supply. and this helps our brands. massey ferguson, di

last year agco in the fourth quarter sales up to 30%. but can the good times last?ood, farmers produce more bringing prices down. goldman sachs has a sell on bunge. a flush ag economy has below trend returns. does this mean we should expect a tough year? >> i would not use the word tough. i would say it might be a step back. we might get a little closer to some of the historical averages, but still above historical averages. it's still going to be a strong year. >> now, ron clark grows everything from corn to nuts. sky high as outside investors look to put their cash to work. >> well, it is a bubble. i believe it is a bubble, but our population continues to increase around the world. we have to feed these people. and the places where you can grow these crops, i think those areas are probably going to continue to do well. >> gop presidential candidate newt gingrich came here. president obama wants to cut 52 billion in farm subsidies. you think a former speaker would support all that though we asked him while he was surrounded by farmers. >> i think they ought to be c