crop prices
Drought scorches U.S. corn, soy, and wheat crops
U.S. farmers will reap two of their largest-ever corn and soybean crops, the first step to assuring an abundant food supply, the government said on Thursday, despite drought damage in the northern Plains and upper Midwest. The wheat crop, meanwhile, will be the smallest in 19 years.
Flush times for farmers, buoyed by strong markets and pandemic aid
Farmers in the Midwest and Plains are reaping a cash bonanza that has dramatically improved their finances a year after the pandemic pummeled commodity markets and prompted a record $46 billion in federal payments to agriculture, said three regional Federal Reserve banks on Thursday. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
USDA forecasts highest prices for U.S. crops in years amid global boom
U.S. farmers will reap two of their largest corn and soybean crops ever and sell them for the highest average prices since the commodity boom ended several years ago, said the government Wednesday in its first projections of the fall harvest. The USDA also said that global soybean king Brazil would increase its share of the world market at the expense of U.S. exports.
After Covid’s chill, a hot recovery is at hand
The U.S. economy could grow at its fastest rate — 7 percent — in nearly four decades, with the farm sector sharing in the energetic recovery from the pandemic, said CoBank on Thursday. "Many in the agricultural industry are experiencing the best market conditions since 2013," said the lender in a quarterly assessment of the sector.
U.S. survey indicates corn and soy crops will be smaller than expected
U.S. farmers will plant less corn and soybean land than expected this year, despite a surge in commodity prices, suggesting that tighter grain supplies will persist into 2022, said the USDA on Wednesday. Although with normal weather and yields, the corn and soybean harvests could be the second largest ever, they will not be quite as large as projected by traders and the government.
Farm income improves significantly, say ag bankers
Heartened by sharp increases in commodity prices, farmers and ranchers across the Midwest and Plains are paying off bank loans and opening their wallets for big-ticket purchases, said a report from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
‘Outstanding’ conditions point to bumper crops, huge corn and soy stockpiles
U.S. farmers are looking at their largest corn crop ever and a near-record soybean harvest, with huge stockpiles of both crops persisting into fall 2021, said the USDA on Wednesday. Some 2.8 billion bushels of corn would remain in the bin when next year's crop is mature, the largest carry-over since the Reagan era.
Cororonavirus could slash farm income by 19 percent
Crop and livestock prices could tumble by as much as 12 percent this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, pulling farm income down by $20 billion dollars, said the FAPRI think tank at the University of Missouri on Monday. "A lot of producers already are already in trouble. This is going to make it more severe," said FAPRI director Pat Westhoff. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Ethanol market is ‘disturbing as hell’ to American farmers. And now there’s Covid-19.
Some 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop is refined into ethanol, but over the last two weeks, Covid-19 has joined a host of other disrupting factors to create what Geoff Cooper, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, calls “not just a perfect storm for ethanol, but a perfect tsunami.” Since the outbreak, ethanol prices have plunged to an all-time low of 88 cents a gallon and manufacturers are warning of more plant closures and reduced run rates.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
USDA payments on corn and wheat more likely with PLC
After looking at the latest USDA price projections for corn, wheat, and soybeans, and taking into account price patterns for the crops, five university economists say the Price Loss Coverage subsidy is a better choice for growers than the Agricultural Risk Coverage subsidy for corn and wheat grown this year.
Soy stockpile to tumble by one-third by next fall
Three years of bumper crops collided with the Sino-U.S. trade war to create the largest U.S. soybean stockpile ever, a price-depressing 1 billion bushels at the start of this month. But by next Sept. 1, the so-called carry-over will be just two-thirds of its current size, estimated the USDA on Thursday.
USDA gives growers the chance to switch crop subsidy programs
For the first time since the 2014 farm bill was implemented, the USDA is giving farmers the option of changing enrollment between the insurance-like Agriculture Risk Coverage and the traditionally designed Price Loss Coverage subsidies.
Profitability of many midwestern corn, soy farms ‘will almost surely fall’
Farmland values are falling for the fifth year in the Midwest, and one factor in the decline is “muted expectations for farm income” this year, said the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank on Thursday. “The profitability of many corn and soybean farms will almost surely fall from their 2018 levels — possibly by a lot for some.”
Rise in commodity prices slows decline in farm income, say bankers
Agricultural lenders expect farm income, which weakened in the spring, to continue to decline this summer, although a recent rally in corn, soybean, and wheat prices will act as a stabilizer, said Federal Reserve banks in Kansas City, Minneapolis, and St. Louis on Thursday.
U.S. crop production unlikely to suffer much from floods
Spring flooding in the northern Plains and western Corn Belt will have a marginal impact on corn and soybean plantings, according to a USDA survey of growers and initial tallies of flooded land. With normal weather and yields, there would be limited impact on production of the two most widely grown U.S. crops, thanks to the huge amount of cropland nationwide.
Soybeans may lose less land to corn than expected
The United States is awash in soybeans, the result of the trade war with China and a string of bumper crops. But although farmers were expected to respond by planting more corn this year while cutting back sharply on soybeans, it's no longer clear that this rush to corn will actually occur.
Agriculture remains an issue as Sino-U.S. trade talks resume
The White House is looking for additional progress in negotiations this week to resolve the Sino-U.S. trade war even as it cautions that “much work remains.” Agriculture is among the structural issues under discussion, according to the administration.
Net farm income to rebound in 2019 as farmers pare expenses
After hitting a pothole in 2018, U.S. net farm income will recover this year under the combined effects of financial belt-tightening and rising crop prices, said the USDA on Thursday. It projected net farm income of $77.6 billion in 2019, which would be the highest total since the commodity boom collapsed in 2014.