Farmers across the Midwest can now take prevent planting payments on soybeans, as final planting dates for crop insurance purposes have arrived. Our comparisons suggest that planting soybeans do not have higher returns than taking a prevent planting payment given a high coverage level on crop insurance. However, the risk for lower returns from planting […]
Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve Board released its May 2019 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. Graph of Fed Districts from, “The Beige Book.” * Sixth District- Atlanta– “Agricultural conditions across the District were mixed. Recent reports indicated much […]
As farms continue to consolidate it becomes increasingly important to assess a farm’s management skills. How do you determine when to focus on professional development, delegate management tasks among mangers, and seek outside assistance?
Many unplanted acres remain across the Corn Belt and in Illinois. As of the week ending on June 9, only 73% of the intended corn acres and 49% of the soybean acres have been planted in Illinois (Planting Progress, June 10, 2019). In this article, prevent planting decisions on intended corn acres are examined first. […]
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement on disaster and trade-related assistance: “Whether it’s because of natural disasters or unfair retaliatory tariffs, farmers across the country are facing significant challenges and tough decisions on their farms and ranches. Last month, immediately upon China reneging on commitments made during the trade talks, President […]
As a dreadful spring for planting limps into the second week of June, producers continue to assess the impacts of record Midwestern precipitation on corn and soybeans. Meanwhile, a welcome ray of good news appeared on Friday as President Trump announced that the U.S. would not be implementing tariffs on imported Mexican goods. Impacts of […]
Washington Post writers Andrew Van Dam, Laris Karklis and Tim Meko reported on Tuesday that, “Corn Belt farmers are used to being at the mercy of the weather. “But they are not used to the weather being quite this merciless. “Through all of April and all of May, wave after wave of rain hit the nation right […]
The Ag Economy Barometer, an agricultural producer sentiment measure based upon a nationwide mid-month survey of 400 U.S. agricultural producers, dropped again in May. The May barometer reading of 101 was 14 points lower than a month earlier and was the lowest barometer reading since October 2016. For the second month in a row, the decline […]
Farmers continue to cope with difficult planting conditions that have bogged down corn planting this spring to a record slow pace. Policy uncertainty stemming from recently announced executive branch trade assistance persists, and the House of Representatives has been stymied in its effort to pass a disaster relief bill. Today’s update discusses these issues in more detail. Excessive Rainfall Impacting Farmer’s […]
Unrelenting rainfall continues to cause headaches for Corn Belt farmers. Record-breaking precipitation this year has lead to flooding and historic delays in the pace of U.S. corn planting. Soybean planting has also fallen significantly behind the five year average. Today’s update recaps recent news articles and government reports that discuss these issues in more detail. […]