This is a presentation summary from the 2020 virtual Illinois Farm Economics Summit (IFES). A video of the webinar and PowerPoint Slides (PDF) are available here. Expectations of net incomes on Illinois grain farms changed over 2020. Above trend yields in 2020 combined with higher corn and soybean prices will lead to higher 2020 crop revenue […]
This is a presentation summary from the 2020 virtual Illinois Farm Economics Summit (IFES). A video of the webinar and PowerPoint Slides (PDF) are available here. The corn and soybean markets have been on a tear since bottoming in mid-August. Both markets have increased over 30% in just three months. This is certainly a welcome change […]
Just in time for Christmas, Congress delivered quite a package this morning by passing new COVID-19 relief legislation. President Trump is expected to sign the bill soon. Buried in the 5,593 pages of the legislation is an allocation of nearly $11.2 billion dollars to the USDA. A large portion of the USDA funds will provide […]
Emily Cochrane reported on the front page of Tuesday’s New York Times that, “Congress on Monday night overwhelmingly approved a $900 billion stimulus package that would send billions of dollars to American households and businesses grappling with the economic and health toll of the pandemic. “Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said hundreds of dollars in direct payments could begin reaching individual Americans […]
Last week, Bloomberg writers Isis Almeida, Samy Adghirni, and Tatiana Freitas reported that, “Brazil is close to an agreement that would allow the world’s second-largest corn exporter to boost sales of the grain to China, a move that could threaten the U.S.’s dominance, according to people familiar with the matter. “Talks between the governments of Brazil and […]
There is considerable interest in the likely magnitude of South American corn and soybean production in 2021, with much of the current focus on weather developments influencing yield prospects. The December USDA WASDE forecasts for Brazil corn and soybean production are 4.330 and 4.887 billion bushels, respectively. Argentina corn and soybean production projections currently sit at 1.968 […]
A news release Tuesday from the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach indicated that, “Favorable interest rates, a strong demand for land, and substantial government payments helped stabilize Iowa’s farmland market in a year in which Iowa’s farmers faced the destructive onslaught of a derecho, significant uncertainties in US agricultural trade, and a […]
The U.S. Grains Council, Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association and the National Corn Growers Association issued the following statement in response to the Brazilian government’s decision to let the current tariff rate quota (TRQ) expire, replacing it with a 20 percent tariff on all imports of U.S. ethanol: “Brazil’s decision to impose a 20 percent […]
Last week, the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released its annual report exploring characteristics of U.S. farms: “America’s Diverse Family Farms: 2020 Edition.” Today’s update includes highlights from the report, which was written by Christine Whitt, Jessica E. Todd, and James M. MacDonald. The report noted that, “Family farms as a group, across type, accounted for 98 percent […]
Last week, in its monthly Grain: World Markets and Trade report, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) explained that, “Trade data for 2019/20 (October-September) are largely complete. Many countries imported record volumes of corn, despite initial concerns over a potential slowdown in feed use due to COVID-19. For 2020/21, global trade for major feed grains is forecast to grow significantly from […]