Since 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been generously granting exemptions to small refineries from the renewable fuels mandates on the transportation fuel industry established by Congress under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). This has raised a set of concerns with EPA’s implementation of the RFS and the impacts of that implementation on the […]
Throughout much of agriculture’s history, farmers had to make decisions based only upon observation and recollection. Both sources are not precise, but it was the best evidence available. As scientific methods were introduced, farmers could employ research-based recommendations to improve production efficiency. Progress followed, even though the recommendations had to be general in nature (apply […]
Preliminary Results The full report is expected to be published in early June Nebraska agricultural land values increased by 3% over the last year, to a statewide average of $2,650 per acre, according to preliminary results from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Farm Real Estate Market Survey. This marks the first year-to-year increase since land values […]
Last week, the Federal Reserve Board released its February 2020 Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District. The report included several observations pertaining to the U.S. agricultural economy. * Sixth District- Atlanta– “Agricultural conditions remained mixed. Most of the District remained drought free, but recent heavy rain resulted in some flooding conditions. […]
USDA’s soybean ending stocks forecast of 425 million bushels for the marketing year may show little if any change in the upcoming WASDE report. Despite the recent strength in soybean crush, the current focus is squarely on the impacts of the coronavirus and the implications for both crush and exports as the disease continues to […]
Over the last few years we have documented a number of important trends in the financial condition of the U.S. farm sector. These have included a decline in liquidity, rapidly growing amounts of real estate debt, and deteriorating repayment capacity. While falling interest rates have helped to mitigate the impact of increased debt use, farm income […]
Precision agriculture has become mainstream in commercial agriculture production, and many would agree that it is “the way we farm today.” Utilization of technology varies from farmer to farmer, but the decision to invest in technology is commonly tied to the potential for increased efficiency and profitability. However, over the last couple of years, we’ve […]
The 2020 price discovery period used to determine projected prices and volatility factors for Federally-sponsored corn and soybean crop insurance products is completed for areas with a 3/15 sales closing date (SCD). For the majority of the Cornbelt, the approved Projected Price (PP) for corn is $3.88 and the Volatility Factor (Vol) is .15, and […]
The Ag Economy Barometer rose slightly compared to a month earlier, with a reading of 168 in February, just one point higher than in January. The one-point rise in the sentiment index was enough to push the barometer to a new all-time high, eclipsing the previous record set in January of this year. The barometer’s strength was […]
Bloomberg writers Isis Almeida and Michael Hirtzer reported on Tuesday that, “China is back in the market for U.S. sorghum this week, signaling the world’s top food importer is willing to buy U.S. agricultural products only when they are cheaper. “Chinese buyers are bidding for U.S. supplies that are for shipment in April and May, according to […]