USDA may pro-rate payments for farm program
The government plans to pro-rate subsidy payments for 2014, 2015 and 2016 grain and soybean crops, says economist Art Barnaby of Kansas State U at the Ag Manager website.
KSU sees higher prices for 2015 crops than USDA
U.S. corn, wheat and soybean growers will sell their 2015 crops for a higher average price than USDA projected a month ago, says ag economist Dan O'Brien of Kansas State University.
Farmer survey points to record soy plantings, sorghum surge
U.S. growers intend to plant a record amount of land with soybeans this spring, and to boost the acres of sorghum, now in high demand for export to China, according to Farm Futures magazine's survey of 1,297 growers in 41 states during the first half of March. Its estimates of 87.25 million acres of soybeans and 8.4 million acres of sorghum are higher from forecasts by Kansas State University and the think tank FAPRI.
Small impact on red meat from bird flu export bans
Export restrictions on U.S. poultry, imposed because of outbreaks of avian influenza, are not likely to have a significant impact on the beef sector, said USDA chief economist Robert Johannson. "At this point, it doesn't appear to be an issue." A couple of dozen countries have imposed full or partial bans on U.S. poultry. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told senators the bans affect roughly 15 percent of poultry exports and that the USDA was to keep shipments moving.
Grocery stores, the economic barometer of rural towns
The local grocery store is often the "anchor business" of a rural community, acting as a meeting place as well as a food vendor, says a Kansas State University expert quoted by DTN.
New US corn crop – down 1 billion bushels from this year
U.S. corn production could shrink by nearly 1.2 billion bushels, or 8 percent, in 2015 with a return to normal yields and a 2 percent reduction in plantings, says economist Dan O'Brien of Kansas State U. Corn yields were record high this year, as was production...
US corn crop down 7 percent this year, KSU estimates
After back-to-back record crops, U.S. corn production will drop to 13.2 billion bushels this year, says an estimate by Kansas State University. That would be down 7 percent from, and 1 billion bushels smaller than, the 2014 crop but still the third-largest on record. KSU forecasts corn plantings will shrink by 2 percent and yields by 5 percent. The corn yield was a record 171 bushels an acre in 2014. Low commodity prices make soybeans more attractive to plant this year.
Soybean plantings may climb despite downturn in price
U.S. farmers are likely to plant more land to soybeans in 2015 than they did this year despite lower commodity prices, says economist Dan O'Brien of Kansas State University.
US corn crop to shrink by 10 percent in 2015
After harvesting two record crops in a row, U.S. farmers will cut back on corn plantings in the spring and produce a comparatively small 13.073 billion bushel-crop, says agricultural economist Dan O'Brien of Kansas State University.
Roberts attended one-third of Ag panel meetings-Report
Third-term Sen Pat Roberts, potentially the next chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, attended only one-third of the committee's meetings since 2000, says the Topeka Capital-Journal.
If US soybean crop shrinks, prices could zoom
The U.S. soybean crop could be as much as 6 percent smaller than now forecast if yields drop slightly or if plantings turn out to be smaller than reported, say projections presented at a Kansas State University risk-management conference.
Cattle and meatpackers shift north and east from Plains
Recurrent drought has combined with a smaller cattle inventory to begin shifting the cattle industry, centered in the southern and central Plains, to the north and east, says Meatingplace in a seven-part story, "Dry Age Beef."
Record corn and soy crops may mean $125,000 payments
Economist Carl Zulauf of Ohio State University says crop subsidies of $30-$90 an acre are possible with record crops and farm-gate prices that average $3.60 a bushel, reports DTN.
Large wheat crop worldwide will push down market prices
Prospects for "historically large" world wheat supplies are likely to result in "a challenging situation for U.S. wheat exports and prices later in 2014," say economists Dan O'Brien and Mykel Taylor of Kansas State University.
A lot of wheat in Kansas “zeroed out” by drought
A lot of wheat in western Kansas has has been "zeroed out for insurance purposes, and a lot more will be," says the chief of the Kansas State University ag experiment station south of Hays in northwest Kansas.
Farm lenders – interest rates up, land values down in future
In a nationwide survey, farm lenders "are not as optimistic as they were in the fall of 2013," say Kansas State University economist.
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.
KSU’s Art Barnaby goes into the weeds on the farm bill
Ag economist Art Barnaby of Kansas State University created a 13-page summary of the crop subsidy and federally subsidized crop insurance provisions of the 2014 farm law.