commodity prices
As tariffs bite, China cancels U.S. soy deals and hunt is on for new export markets
For Iowa farmer John Heisdorffer, the math is brutal in the U.S.-China tariff war: "You tax soybeans at 25 percent and you have serious damage to U.S. farmers." China, the No. 1 customer for U.S. farm exports, canceled purchases of nearly $140 million worth of U.S. soybeans just before the two countries imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on each other's products. Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst said on Sunday the Trump administration was working on "a number of new free-trade agreements," but China "will be a much longer haul."
Brazil to match U.S. as world’s top soybean grower
After a decade of robust growth, world production of soybeans will grow at a much slower rate of 1.5 percent annually in the years ahead, says two UN agencies in their annual Agricultural Outlook. Brazil, the longtime No. 2 to the United States in soybeans, will reach parity with America, said the report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
In rarity, soy tops corn in U.S. plantings
U.S. farmers planted nearly 2 million more acres of corn and soybeans than they planned in late winter, but soybeans, for the first time in 35 years, will be the most widely grown crop in the country, said the USDA's annual Acreage report. The soybean harvest could be the second-largest ever and corn the third-largest, assuming normal weather and yields.
Russia still top wheat exporter; U.S. falls off the pace
Due to bad weather, Russia's wheat crop will be one-fifth smaller than last year. But Russia will remain the No. 1 wheat exporter in the world while the EU pushes the United States into third place, according to a USDA forecast released Tuesday. In its monthly WASDE report, the USDA said farm-gate prices for this year's U.S. corn, wheat and soybean crops would be the highest since the commodity slump began early this decade.
Senate farm bill designed to clear 60-vote hurdle
Roughly 16 months ago, at their first hearing for the 2018 farm bill, Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts and Sen. Debbie Stabenow agreed to write a bipartisan bill that would be enacted on time, a seemingly simple goal that has eluded Congress repeatedly. With a committee vote set for Wednesday on their 1,006-page bill, the two committee leaders say they are on the verge of a major bipartisan victory.
House quietly aims for farm bill revival by June 22
Four days after defeating the farm bill, the House quietly delayed Speaker Paul Ryan's attempt to revive the bill until June 22, with GOP leaders hoping that hardline Republicans will vote for it the second time. Members of the House Freedom Caucus provided the decisive votes against the farm bill to underline their demand for a roll call on immigration controls. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Farmers increasingly look to supply management to steady U.S. agriculture
With a trade war looming, commodity prices swooning, and the dairy industry in full-blown crisis, a growing number of American farmers are embracing a controversial set of farm policies that would manage the country’s commodity production and stabilize crop prices. <strong>No paywall</strong>
Farm bill? Rural America doesn’t have the time.
The farm bill was the missing topic during a 45-minute session recently with farmers in southwestern Missouri, recalls Sen. Roy Blunt. "The farm bill never came up." Instead, growers talked about threats to farm exports, over-regulation and the need for rural broadband. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says low commodity prices, the slump in farm income, attacks on corn ethanol and, most of all, anxiety about a possible trade war are the top concerns in farm country. <strong>No paywall</strong>
Trump orders plan to protect U.S. agriculture from China retaliation
At the same time he threatened an additional $100 billion in tariffs on China, President Trump said on Thursday that the government will use its broad powers to protect U.S. farmers and agricultural interests from “China’s unfair retaliation.”
For farm sector, the new normal looks like the decade-ago normal
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue drew a familiar picture of a fragile farm economy recently for lawmakers pondering the 2018 farm bill: income at half its 2013 level, high production costs, debt on the rise, and low commodity prices in the year ahead.
String of record-large corn and soybean crops to extend into this year
U.S. farmers are headed for massive corn and soybean harvests this year that will mean another year of large stockpiles and will throttle farm-gate prices into the summer of 2019, according to updated USDA projections. The bumper crops would be the latest in a string of record-setting harvests that began early this decade.
Commodity price slump is ending, says USDA; gradual increases ahead
When U.S. farmers bring their crops to market this year, they will see “the beginning of gradual price increases that are expected to continue through the decade,” ending the slump that began in 2013, said USDA projections. Prices for most crops, however, will remain below their 10-year average.
U.S. farm income ‘flattening’ at pre-boom level
During the seven-year commodity boom that ended in 2013, U.S. farm income soared to record highs. Then commodity prices collapsed, and farm income plunged 50 percent in three years. It now appears to be bottoming out at rates seen a decade ago.
Ending five-year decline, world food prices climb 8.2 percent in 2017
World food prices are on the rise for the first time since 2011, according to the Food Price Index of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Glut of white corn, used in tortillas, sends prices lower
With commodity prices in a trough since 2013, U.S. farmers have tried to bolster their income by diversifying their crops, such as planting white corn, the variety used in corn chips and tortillas. That decision is now coming back to bite them because overproduction is driving down the price of white corn.
Will commodity prices go up or down in 2018? Yes, say analysts.
Goldman Sachs said agricultural commodity prices are on course for a fourth year of decline, with corn prices at the end of 2018 running 33 cents a bushel below the current futures price for December 2018 delivery, said Agrimoney.
Purdue poll finds few farmers expect higher commodity prices
The great majority of corn, soybean, wheat, and cotton growers expect commodity prices to muddle along at current levels through next fall, says a monthly Purdue poll. Only 20 to 25 percent of row-crop farmers expect higher prices in the next 12 months.
Leave NAFTA nuclear option on the shelf, say U.S. ag groups
Commodity prices will fall and export sales will be lost if the Trump administration withdraws from NAFTA, which generates one-third of U.S. agricultural trade, said U.S. farm and agribusiness groups in a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. With farm income down sharply, "2018 would be an especially damaging time to lose America's two largest food and agriculture product markets."
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.