Lack of right-to-repair may cost farmers more than $3 billion, says survey
A survey released this week shows that farmers are losing an average of $3,348 per year to repair downtime and restrictions because farm equipment makers limit their ability to fix tractors, combines, and other equipment.
Farm finances are strong, but rise in land values slows
High commodity prices supported "profit opportunities for many producers across the farm sector" ahead of the spring planting season, although there were concerns about operating expenses, higher interest rates and drought, said the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank.
More money needed for farm bill, says panel, eyeing climate funds
After describing the farm economy in apocalyptic terms, the House Agriculture Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to seek “additional resources” of an unspecified amount “to enact a strong farm bill in 2023.” The committee also said it would consider whether to divert all or part of the $20 billion awarded to the USDA for climate mitigation to other needy programs.
Premium subsidies for crop insurance near $12 billion a year
In a decade, government outlays to subsidize crop insurance increased 60 percent, expanding in step with the rapid growth in acreage covered by the policies, according to Risk Management Agency data released Sunday.
SNAP claims larger share of farm bill outlays
The new farm bill could cost nearly $130 billion a year — the highest price tag ever — with public nutrition programs getting more than $4 of every $5, wrote associate professor Roman Keeney in Purdue’s annual agricultural economics review. “The overall budget, and particularly spending on the nutrition title (primarily food assistance for low-income households), should continue to be the most politically divisive component of the farm bill debate.”
Potential breakthrough on right-to-repair dispute
The Farm Bureau Federation and John Deere signed a memorandum of understanding on farmers' right to repair their equipment on Sunday — potentially a breakthrough after years of complaints that manufacturers prevented access to the increasingly computerized controls of tractors, combines and other equipment.
Plan for prolonged period of higher interest rates, analysts tell farmers
The highest interest rates in years will complicate farm finances, and operators should expect higher rates to persist for several years as part of efforts to quash inflation, said a team of agricultural economists on Wednesday. Farmers will pay more when they borrow money, face higher break-even levels on investments, and feel downward pressure on the value of farmland, their largest asset.
Farmland values will stay strong in 2023, says ag real estate firm
High commodity prices will combine with strong demand to hold farmland values at near-record levels in 2023, said Farmers National Co., a farm real estate and management company, on Wednesday.
After year-end surge, farmers’ financial confidence wavers
Strong harvest-time commodity prices pushed farmer confidence to its highest level in 16 months, said a Purdue University poll of large operators released on Tuesday. The abrupt 24-point climb in the Ag Economy Barometer "was motivated by producers' stronger perception of current financial conditions on their farms," said agricultural economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier.
U.S. and Mexico aim for resolution of GMO corn dispute in January
n discussions to avert a potential shutoff of U.S. corn exports to Mexico, a senior-level Mexican delegation told U.S. officials that they wanted to ensure self-sufficiency in corn for tortillas. U.S. officials said Mexico "presented some potential amendments" to its presidential decree against imports of genetically modified corn beginning in January 2024.
Iowa farmland values skyrocket, again
High commodity prices and low interest rates helped drive farmland values in Iowa to an average of $11,411 an acre, up 17 percent from 2021, when they rose 29 percent, said Iowa State University’s annual Land Value Survey.
Few farmers adjust operations because of higher energy prices
Higher input costs are by far the No. 1 concern among farmers, but only a minority of them have altered their operations because of rising energy prices, according to a Purdue University poll of large-scale operators.
Farm income jumps 14 percent to record high
High commodity prices, due in part to warfare in Ukraine, will propel U.S. net farm income to a record $160.5 billion this year, despite a steep climb in expenses, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday. Farm income, a gauge of profitability, would be 14 percent higher than last year.
Interest rates are the top policy concern among farmers
Congress is on the cusp of overhauling the farm program but the top question among farmers about government action is interest rate policy, which lies outside the jurisdiction of the Senate and House Agriculture committees, said a Purdue University poll on Tuesday. Concern about interest rates coincided with the Federal Reserve campaign to squelch inflation through regular increases in interest rates.
Fed report: Highest financing expenses since 2019 for farmers
Headwinds are intensifying for the farm sector, although high commodity prices support a positive outlook for farm finances through the end of this year, said a survey of ag bankers on Thursday. Alongside increased loan volume during the summer, “interest rates rose sharply and pushed financing expenses to the highest level since 2019.”
USDA projects farm income to rise around 5 percent in 2022
The USDA said Thursday it expects farm income for 2022 to rise 5.2 percent, to $147.7 billion, from a year earlier, with cash receipts for agricultural commodities at a record level. But higher production expenses and lower government Covid-19 payments are presenting some headwinds.
Record subsidies but weaker ag sector during pandemic year
Farmers faced higher expenses and earned less money from their crops and livestock than initially expected in 2020, due to market disruptions caused by the pandemic, said a USDA Covid-19 working paper. By many standards, such as debt-to-asset ratio, the financial strength of the sector softened in 2020, despite $45.7 billion in federal subsidies — the largest ever — said USDA economists.
Thanks to war, wheat-soy double crop shines
Last spring, the Biden administration encouraged U.S. farmers to grow more wheat in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said it would make crop insurance more widely available for growers who wanted to team winter wheat with soybeans. Now there’s another inducement: Double-crop wheat and soybeans would be more profitable in 2023 than standalone corn or soybeans, say university economists.