farm income
House defeats Trump-backed government funding bill
One day after President-elect Donald Trump shot down a stopgap government funding bill, the House defeated a Trump-backed bill written by Republicans to keep the government running until March 14. The GOP bill included $31 billion to buffer the impact in rural America of natural disasters and lower farm income.
Farm groups demand ag aid despite congressional impasse
Major U.S. farm groups said they would try to torpedo a short-term government funding bill in Congress this week unless it contains a multibillion-dollar bailout for agriculture. Negotiations fell apart over the weekend on inclusion of so-called economic aid in the only must-pass bill left before adjournment, scheduled for Friday.
Farm groups prod Congress for economic relief
With two weeks left in the congressional schedule for this year, time is running out for lawmakers to provide financial relief to agriculture, said two farm groups. "It is imperative that they address the well-defined and fully substantiated needs of farmers just trying to hold on for another season," said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Strong livestock revenue slows decline in U.S. farm income
Farm income is down for the second year in a row, with receipts from corn and soybeans — the two largest field crops — off by a combined $23.5 billion from 2023 levels, but higher than expected livestock revenue is a counterweight, said the Agriculture Department on Tuesday. It estimated net farm income, a broad measure of profits, at $140.7 billion this year, down by $6 billion from last year but still the fourth-highest level on record.
A note from Chuck
Half a century ago, in 1973, I entered the news business as a reporter for a small weekly paper in Missouri. And now, it’s time to leave the party. I will continue my reporting here at Ag Insider through the end of the current Congressional session, at which time Ag Insider will be put to bed one last time. The final edition will go out Monday, December 23.
Farm income declines in northern Plains, say ag bankers
The two-year decline in commodity prices drove down farm income in the northern Plains this summer, ag bankers said overwhelmingly in a survey by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, and they expect income to fall again this winter. Farmers have cut back on major purchases and loan demand is up, the bankers said.
Farmers need ‘significant’ federal help to survive drop in income, say senators
“One in five farmers could be pushed out of business by the sharp drop in farm income this year,” said Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith at a Senate hearing on disaster aid, and Arkansas Sen. John Boozman asked how rural America could survive the combination of high production costs and lower commodity prices without “significant help” from the government.
Farmer income declines, but land prices rise in Plains
The decline in farm income in the central Plains intensified as crop prices remained weak this summer, according to 135 ag bankers who took part in a quarterly survey by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Six out of every 10 of the bankers said farm income during the third quarter was lower than a year earlier; only one in 10 reported an increase.
Farm financial aid draws increased interest in lame-duck session
With little sign of a breakthrough on the farm bill in Congress, farm groups are shifting their attention to a proposed $21 billion bailout bill. Help is needed because high costs and lower commodity prices are sharply eroding farm income, they say.
Stable near-term corn, soy, and wheat prices at U.S. farm gate, USDA says
For the next few years, season-average prices for U.S. corn, soybeans, and wheat, the three most widely grown crops in the country, will largely mirror the market prices for this year’s crops, projected the Agriculture Department on Thursday. The steep declines in farm-gate prices since 2022 would be replaced by a period of relative stability, according to the USDA’s long-term baseline.
Surge in million-dollar operating loans to farmers
Ag bankers reported more than 40 percent growth in the volume of new operating loans during the summer compared to the third quarter of 2023, said the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. "For the first time in at least two decades, the volume of loans larger than $1 million eclipsed the volume of loans smaller than $1 million," said the regional Fed, based on a survey of banks across the nation.
Agricultural activity ‘flat to down modestly’ this fall, says Beige Book
The farm economy stabilized in the Midwest and northern Plains but weakened in much of the country this fall as producers nationwide confronted high costs and lower commodity prices, said the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book on Wednesday. “Agricultural activity was flat to down modestly, with some crop prices remaining unprofitably low,” said the national economic summary.
Land values rise while farm income shrinks in northern Plains
Continuing a four-year trend, land values rose during the growing season in the northern Plains, despite financial tightening in the farm sector, said ag bankers in a quarterly survey by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank.
Fears of falling income drive farmer confidence to lowest level in eight years
Farmer confidence tumbled by 21 percent in the past two months to its lowest level since 2016, with three of every four farmers saying they expect bad times for the agricultural economy in the year ahead, said Purdue University on Tuesday. Producers taking part in the Ag Economy Barometer survey said they were worried about declining income because of low commodity prices and high production costs.
Farmers take out more operating loans as revenue tightens
Bankers reported a 10-percent increase in farm operating loans this summer, compared to a year ago, said the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. "A moderation in the agricultural economy and lower farm sector liquidity has spurred higher financing needs and credit conditions have also shown signs of tightening," said the bank, based on quarterly reports from lender.
Farmers need emergency assistance to offset lower income, says Boozman
The government should provide emergency aid to farmers to help them weather sharply lower commodity prices, said Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, the senior Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, on Tuesday. Prompt action on emergency aid should be coupled with enactment of a new farm bill yet this year, he said.
Thanks to livestock revenue, farm income will be stronger than expected
U.S. net farm income will be a much better than expected $140 billion this year, the fourth-highest total on record, forecast the Agriculture Department on Thursday. Production expenses are down for the first time since 2018, while farmers are pocketing increased revenue from eggs, cattle, milk, and broiler chickens.
Farmer confidence falls along with commodity prices
More than half of American farmers say their farming operations are worse off financially now than a year ago, according to a Purdue University poll released on Tuesday, which also found increasing concern about low market prices for crops and livestock. "The weakness in farmer sentiment could indicate that farmers expect this year's farm income downturn to last for an extended period," said the Ag Economy Barometer.