CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (CBS2/FOX28) Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has made it clear his conservative approach to funding for schools specifically and the state budget in general is directly connected to his concerns about agriculture revenues. If that continues to be his yardstick, 2016 could be a challenging year for Iowa. Some of the farmers, suppliers and others who make up the one in five people who work in Iowa agriculture painted a less than glowing picture at Wednesdays Ag Expo at Hawkeye Downs. Nate Sutton says itll be a huge change, For agriculture, the last 5 years have just been incredible. Sutton works for Stutsman in Hills, Iowa, a full service seed, application parts and service facility thats been helping customers maximize their yields for 82 years. He says this growing season carries a lot of uncertainty, Farmers are scared, they dont know where the market is going yet. This will give farmers a chance to step back and see where theyre going to be and where theyre operation needs to be in two or three or four years. Some at the Ag Expo say theyre concerned record harvests could leave growers with corn prices below per bushel. Considering those prices were closer to per bushel just four years ago illustrates the dramatic changes. Steve Bohr, who has been helping farm families grow and preserve wealth at Farm Financial Strategies says the connection is even stronger than some might imagine, I believe as agriculture goes, so goes the state of Iowa. Bohr says after a very profitable stretch for operators, its time for a reality check, Some have spent that income, some have invested that income and some have saved that income. Well were getting ready to give it back. Its a little bit like were at the gambling table and when you win a little you better put some in your pocket. Jeff Garman at Heartland Ag, based in Ames, says a downturn in agriculture isnt a complete shock, but hopefully isnt the new normal either, Everybodys been kind of predicting this for the last few years, we just didnt know when it was going to come. Hopefully it will be our low point and then start coming back. Weather conditions, exports and all the other factors which make farming a boom or bust business could change a gloomy agriculture outlook, but for now, in addition to their other duties, Iowa school superintendents may be listening to the noon farm market reports, hoping for a May frost in Illinois and timely rains in Iowa as the legislature debates education funding this year.