Grain markets in 2019 had a familiar feel – a late June rally that faded as concerns about the U.S. corn and soybean crops subsided (see futures prices for corn here, soybeans here). This was especially frustrating for producers hoping for a substantial price improvement after spring planting challenges and record prevented planting acreage. Given Mother Nature’s […]
Last week, the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City and Minneapolis released updates regarding farm income, farmland values and agricultural credit conditions from the third quarter of 2019. And earlier this year, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released its Agricultural Survey for the third quarter of 2019. Today’s update highlights core findings from the Fed reports. Federal Reserve […]
In 2018, the total noncapital living expenses of 1,306 farm families enrolled in the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management Association (FBFM) average was $77,999–or $6,500 a month for each family. This average was 2.3 percent lower than in 2017. Another $4,579 was used to buy capital items such as the personal share of the family […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) today announced it will continue to defer accrual of interest for 2019 crop year insurance premiums to help the wide swath of farmers and ranchers affected by extreme weather in 2019. Specifically, USDA will defer the accrual of interest on 2019 crop year insurance premiums […]
After the USDA and White House announced the 2019 MFP program, we noted that direct government payments were set to soar in 2019. The USDA’s most recent estimate is for $19.5 billion in total direct farm payments is more than $5.5 billion higher than 2018. For context, the USDA’s initial estimated 2019 direct payments $2.5 billion […]
The Ag Economy Barometer improved to a reading of 136 in October, up 15 points compared to September, which pushed the barometer back to the same level observed in October 2018. This month’s upswing in the ag economy sentiment index was driven by an improvement in ag producers’ assessments of both current and future economic conditions in […]
The proposed Phase 1 trade deal with China continues to move toward a resolution. An initial announcement of $40-50 billion a year of agricultural exports gradually morphed into a $20 billion arrangement. Subsequently, a scenario popped up from Chinese trade commentators framing increased U.S. agricultural imports as China market demands require. Stronger soybean prices appear […]
Reuters writers Heather Timmons and Hallie Gu reported last week that, “U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that Beijing commit to big purchases of American farm products has become a major sticking point in talks to end the Sino-U.S. trade war, according to several people briefed on the negotiations. Farm Policy@FarmPolicy “@realDonaldTrump: We’re ahead of schedule on phase […]
Producers in several states, including North Dakota and Minnesota, have been affected by extremely wet and snowy conditions this fall. “Impacted producers covered by crop insurance should contact their insurance agent as soon as possible to determine what actions they can take,” encourages Ron Haugen, North Dakota State University Extension farm management specialist. According to […]
ARC-IC (Agriculture Risk Coverage – Individual) has received less attention than ARC-CO (ARC – County) and PLC (Price Loss Coverage). ARC-IC is operationally more complex, thus harder to explain and understand. It pays on only 65% of program base acres while ARC-CO and PLC pay on 85% of base acres. Nevertheless, ARC-IC is worth considering […]