commodity prices
Low commodity prices put pressure on farmland prices
If the low commodity prices persist into the future - a widespread concern - "it is becoming clear...there will be pressure on farmland values to end their upward march and likely fall," says Brent Gloy at the blog Agricultural Economic Insights.
After record harvest, US crop plantings may decline
Corn plantings could decline by 3 percent next year without pinching the U.S. supply, swollen by the second record-setting crop in two years, says economist Darrel Good of U-Illinois.
Crop insurance inefficient but popular, says analyst
The federally subsidized crop insurance program is an inefficient way to support growers and a drain on taxpayers, says a critique in Choices, the journal of agricultural economics.
Record-setting US crops to get bigger, analysts say
The government will raise its estimates of the record-setting corn and soybean crops on Friday, according to two surveys of analysts ahead of the monthly crop report and the companion WASDE report on world crops.
Lowest food prices in four years, biggest grain stocks in 15
The global Food Price Index fell by 3.6 percent in August to reach its lowest level in four year, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Prices for all commodities except for meat dropped markedly. Wheat and corn prices are the lowest in four years, said FAO. Meat is up 1.2 percent in a month and 14 percent higher than a year ago.
Slightly bigger US crops and much larger surpluses
The numbers may change when USDA issues its September crop report on Thursday but the story remains the same: U.S. farmers will reap their largest corn and soybean crops ever this fall. The gargantuan harvests will result in the biggest surpluses in several years and bring markedly lower farm-gate prices that end an eight-year run of historically high crop prices.
Will record crops be bigger than expected?
Private consultants expect the U.S. corn and soybean crops will be larger than estimated by the government. USDA will update its forecasts on Sept 11. Three consultancies - INTL FCStone, Lanworth and Allendale - release assessments this week. Lanworth was the only one to lower its estimate of the corn crop, to 14.646 billion bushels, but that is higher than the other two forecasts and 4 percent larger than USDA's estimate of 14.032 billion bushels based on Aug 1 conditions, said AgriMoney.
Record-high beef and pork prices for one more year
Grocery shoppers will pay record-level prices for beef and pork through 2015, says a University of Missouri think tank.
Food prices on track for minimal 2014 increase
Food prices will climb a modest 3 percent this year, close to the long-term average of 2.8 percent, said USDA in a monthly update.
On the horizon, a period of stable farmland prices?
Farmland values soared during the agricultural boom that began in 2006, fueled by high commodity prices and low interest rates that made it easier to buy land.
Main Street begins to feel the pinch of lower farm income
Farmers and ranchers are tightening their purse strings and spending less in town, say farm bankers across the Farm Belt. With farm income down due to sharply lower commodity prices, cutbacks are expected to continue into the fall at a minimum.
Deere to scale back as farmers buy less equipment
The world's largest farm equipment manufacturer said sales were down by 5 percent worldwide - down 8 percent in the United States and Canada - in the third quarter - due to lower commodity prices...
Rice is likeliest crop to trigger U.S. subsidy this year
Commodity prices are down sharply this year for major crops yet wheat and soybeans may not trigger subsidies under the new farm law, says economist Carl Zulauf of Ohio State University in a blog.
Interest rates, the next threat to farmland prices
With sharply lower commodity prices at hand, "one of the key supports for sky high farmland values is changing rapidly," writes economist Brent Gloy at the Agricultural Economic Insights blog.
Lowest corn, soy prices in years if crops set records
Commodity prices will tumble if U.S. farmers harvest record corn and soybean crops this fall, says Farm Futures.
High corn and soy ratings despite dry July
The U.S. corn and soybean crops are in phenomenally good shape for the first week of August, said the weekly Crop Progress report, despite dry July weather in the western Corn Belt.
SCO, a farm bill creation, available for eight major crops
The Supplemental Coverage Option, created by the 2014 farm law as a cushion against low prices and poor yields, will be offered on eight widely planted crops for harvest next year, said the Agriculture Department. SCO will be available for corn, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, spring barley, spring wheat, and winter wheat in many areas.
Record spring wheat, corn yields are forecast
The hard red spring wheat tour of North Dakota concluded with a forecast of an average yield of 48 bushels an acre, a record high, said DTN. "Overall, scouts saw a wheat crop with record yield potential and little disease or pest pressure," said DTN. It said the crop was maturing later than usual. A cold and rainy spring delayed planting for weeks in the upper Midwest and northern Plains.
Farmers to get $10 billion in economic assistance
President Biden signed a stop-gap government funding bill over the weekend that calls for speedy payment of $10 billion to farmers to buffer lower commodity prices and high production costs. Congress voted to fund the government through March 14 after a fight that showed the limits of President-elect Trump's control over Republican lawmakers.