China purchased more U.S. soybeans last week as trade negotiations between the two countries are set to continue this week in Beijing. Meanwhile, a front page article in the Wall Street Journal last week pointed to signs of strain in the U.S. agricultural economy. It appears that farmers will continue to deal with uncertainty on the trade frontas 2019 unfolds. Background: […]
The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer rebounded sharply in January to a reading of 143, a 16-point improvement compared to December and the highest Barometer reading since June 2018. The January survey provided the first opportunity to measure farmer sentiment following USDA’s announcement that the second round of Market Facilitation Program(MFP) payments would be made to soybean […]
A few weeks ago we considered the state-level impacts of the farm economy slow down. While net farm income has fallen 42% nationally, the impacts have varied across the country. As many would expect, the Corn Belt and Great Plains states were hard-hit. Based on reader feedback, this week’s post considers the farm economy slow down […]
CoBank recently released a report that explored a variety of issues that will impact the U.S. agricultural economy in 2019. Meanwhile, recent news items have discussed issues associated with farm lending and farm income. Today’s update briefly highlights core points from the CoBank report, and also looks at the recent news items discussing important elements of […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) recently released its annual brochure exploring characteristics of America’s farms. Today’s update highlights a few of the key findings from the ERS brochure. In an annual update that provides an overview of U.S. farms (“America’s Diverse Family Farms: 2018 Edition“) ERS Economists Christopher Burns and James M. MacDonald noted that: Eighty-nine […]
Recent updates from Purdue University, the University of Illinois, and Iowa State University provide a snapshot of variables impacting the U.S. agricultural economy in 2019. Today’s update looks briefly at key points from each of these three land grant university reports. Purdue University: 2019 Agricultural Outlook The Agricultural Economics Department at Purdue University recently released its annual outlook report that contained ten specific […]
If it isn’t already on your New Years’ Resolution list, improving your financial reporting and improving your understanding of your balance sheet should be on that list. Navigating the challenging financial and economic environment makes it very necessary that you understand the factors affecting your balance sheet. That knowledge and understanding are the keys to […]
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its January 2019 Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District.
The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer declined moderately in December to 127.
Some guidelines can be provided for certain debts where repayment terms are known.