Bloomberg writers Michael Hirtzer and Tatiana Freitas reported last week that, “China is clearing the way for more purchases of American soybeans in an apparent boon for U.S. farmers. There’s just one thing getting in the way — cheap Brazilian supplies. “As Beijing and Washington edge closer to an initial trade resolution, the Asian nation is said to have granted tariff waivers on […]

According to NASS, Illinois producers harvested 36 percent of the corn crop and 52 percent of the soybean crop by October 20. That’s still behind the average pace of harvest, but harvest continues in many areas this week, and as it progresses, fields in many areas are becoming available for fall field work to begin. […]

USDA’s October Cattle on Feed report, released on Friday, October 25th, indicated that the nation’s on feed inventory of 11.3 million head was about 1% smaller than a year ago, but still more than 4% larger than two years ago. Although the total number of cattle on feed was smaller than a year earlier, there were more […]

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the establishment of the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program. This program, as required by the 2018 Farm Bill, creates a consistent regulatory framework around hemp production throughout the United States. “At USDA, we are always excited when there are new economic opportunities for our farmers, and we […]

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 […]

The future of U.S. pork belly supplies isn’t so clear despite reports of an impending bacon shortage in 2020, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist. David Anderson, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension economist, College Station, said numerous recent reports regarding a bacon shortage in 2020 could be based more on expectations than current reality. Anderson said […]

It happens every year. A field is about to be harvested and something is awry.  Perhaps the plants are lodged, ears are poorly filled, or pods shrunken.  What happened to my crop? From a plant disease perspective, it is nearly impossible to provide any useful information to the producer.  Many pathogens that can cause crop […]

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 […]