crop prices
Less winter wheat is sown, suggesting less wheat, more soy
Wheat farmers planted the smallest amount of winter wheat in five years and 5 percent less than last year, said the government, based on a survey of growers in early December. Winter wheat is planted in the fall, lies dormant during the winter and sprouts in the spring for harvest in early summer. The total of 40.2452 million acres was far below trade expectations and also was the second-smallest figure in a decade.
Lower corn, soy and wheat prices for 2015 crops?
Analysts at the Congressional Budget Office are penciling lower prices for corn, wheat and soybeans into their budget assumptions, according to documents that circulated among commodity traders. The preliminary estimates are prepared for consultations with other agencies and will be refined in coming weeks.
Persistent low prices to reduce US crop area by 5 percent
Farmers will scale back plantings of the eight major field crops by nearly 5 percent - a total of 12.3 million acres - over the next five years in response to sustained, lower commodity prices, projects the Agriculture Department. The biggest cutbacks would be in wheat, down 8 percent, and soybeans, down 7 percent, from this year's levels. Corn, the most widely grown crop in the nation, would drop by 1.5 percent.
Plunge in farm income is steeper than expected
U.S. net farm income will plummet by 21 percent this year, the government forecast, a much steeper drop than its August estimate of 14 percent points.
Slight decline in farmland prices likely after 10-year rise
A Purdue agricultural economist says land prices are likely to fall under the weight of low crop prices and rising interest rates. "We are looking at about a 5-10 percent correction over each of the next three years," says Michael Langemeier in a Purdue news release.
US corn crop is slightly smaller, average price slightly higher
The Agriculture Department lowered its estimates of the corn and wheat crops marginally and raised its estimate of the soybean crop by 1 percent in its monthly crop report.
Returns on US farmland are lowest in four years
Returns from investment in U.S. farmland in the third quarter of this year were the lowest in four years, said the National Council of Real Estate Fiduciaries, a trade group based in Chicago for investors.
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.
Glum price outlook as farmers face crop subsidy decisions
Farmers will sell this year's record-setting corn and soybean crops for the lowest season-average price in eight years, the government forecast in a new look at crop output and usage. USDA says the corn and soybean crops are marginally larger than it estimated a month ago. Supplies will be the largest in years, holding down prices for the year ahead.
Three-year price bath for corn, wheat, soy, says think tank
A University of Missouri think tank lowered its forecasts of farm-gate prices for corn, wheat and soybeans because of huge inventories that are building up. It will take three years for prices to recover, said the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, which slashed by 10 percent its forecast of the average price for this year's corn crop, expected to be a record 14.4 billion bushels.
Farm-gate prices fall as harvest nears
Corn, soybean and wheat prices fell during August amid forecasts of a record fall harvest, said the monthly Agricultural Prices report.
Ranchland value rising, cropland is steady or declining
Cropland values are steady or starting to erode while ranch and pasture land is rising in value, say agricultural bankers in the Midwest and central Plains.
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.
More bushels in the bin, fewer bucks in the bank
Despite record-setting corn and soybean crops and an upturn in wheat production, the crops are worth 10 percent less than 2013's output due to sharply lower farm-gate prices. Corn, wheat and soybeans are the three most widely planted crops in the nation - covering 360,000 square miles this year - and will have a combined value of $107 billion at the farm gate, based on USDA estimates of season-average prices, compared to...
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.
Amid drought, more land goes to thirsty crops
Drought in California could idle 78 percent of the state's farm land yet, "A booming population and a sharp increase in lucrative crops like berries and nuts that require more water strain the system" says the New York Times.
Farmers will shy away from new revenue subsidy
U.S. farmers will stick with traditional crop subsidies based on crop prices and shy away from the crop revenue subsidy created in the new farm law, says the Congressional Budget Office.
Farmer borrowing up sharply as crop prices fall
Commercial banks across the country reported a dramatic increase in volume this year for short-term agricultural production loans, says the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank in its quarterly Agricultural Finance Databook.