September 22, 2020
Andrew Restuccia and Jesse Newman reported in Friday’s Wall Street Journal that, “President Trump unveiled $13 billion in new aid to farmers facing economic harm from the coronavirus pandemic as he aimed to boost support among rural voters at a campaign rally. ‘I’m proud to announce that I’m doing even more to support Wisconsin farmers,’ said Mr. Trump, speaking outside […]
September 18, 2020
Reuters writers Hallie Gu and Gavin Maguire reported on Wednesday that, “China’s corn crop is expected to fall by up to 10 million tonnes, or nearly 4%, from the latest government estimates after heavy wind and rains toppled crops in major production areas in the northeastern cornbelt, analysts said. “Expected production losses have pushed Chinese corn futures to […]
September 11, 2020
Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that, “The corn harvest in [China] the world’s top producer after the U.S. is being closely watched as demand for hog and poultry feed expands and state reserves dwindle, pushing local prices to the highest in five years. Purchases from the U.S. and Ukraine already exceed 10 million tons, and they could hit 20 million tons if U.S. prices […]
September 10, 2020
Reuters writers Stephanie Kelly, Jeff Mason and Jarrett Renshaw reported on Tuesday that, “U.S. President Donald Trump has instructed that dozens of oil refiner requests for retroactive waivers from U.S. biofuel laws be denied amid concerns the issue could cut into his support in the Farm Belt, three sources familiar with the decision said. “The move, in the form of a direction […]
September 9, 2020
Reuters writer Karl Plume reported last week that, “Chinese state-owned firms bought at least eight bulk shipments of U.S. soybeans on Wednesday, or at least 480,000 tonnes, for shipment in December and January, two U.S. traders familiar with the deals said. “The bulk of the sales were for shipment from Pacific Northwest ports, with the remainder […]
September 9, 2020
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its August 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 weak. Drought-free conditions prevailed in most parts of the District except in Georgia, where much of the […]
September 9, 2020
As wheat planting season approaches, we evaluate expected returns for crop rotations that include wheat. Given current 2021 grain bids, a combination of wheat and double-crop-soybeans is projected more profitable than either corn or stand-alone-soybeans in southern Illinois. Wheat alone is not more profitable than either corn or stand-alone soybeans. In central Illinois, stand-alone soybeans […]
September 2, 2020
Reuters writer Karl Plume reported on Thursday that, “China made its largest weekly U.S. beef purchases on record last week, followed by its biggest U.S. corn deals in almost a month this week, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data released on Thursday. “The USDA, in its weekly export sales report, said China bought a net 3,315 tonnes of […]
September 2, 2020
Bloomberg writers Michael Hirtzer, Dominic Carey, and Kim Chipman reported last week that, “The corn crop in the U.S. Midwest deteriorated the most in 8 years with hot weather adding to woes from drought and the Aug. 10 derecho windstorm that swept through the top-growing state of Iowa. “Crop ratings of ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ fell by 5 percentage points to […]
August 27, 2020
On Wednesday, the USDA released its Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade, a quarterly report from the Department’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and Economic Research Service (ERS). Today’s update includes highlights from the report, which was coordinated by Bart Kenner and Hui Jiang. The Outlook stated that, “U.S. agricultural exports in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 are projected at $140.5 billion, up $5.5 […]
