NCFC: Still Confident a Farm Bill is Coming
Regardless of who wins in the midterm elections, there is still work to do for U.S. agriculture in the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress. Duane Simpson, president of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, said he believes some work will get done. "I have a high degree of confidence that we are going to ...
Drought Deepens Across North and South Carolina as Rain Remains Scarce
Well, there's been a lot of talk around the news about waves and tsunamis, but unfortunately, in the Carolinas, that weather pattern has missed us. We have not seen rain in at least a couple of weeks. We've got State Assistant Climatologist Corey Davis here. Corey, let's talk about what the drought map is going to look...
Bearish Signals Weigh on Soybean Market
New soybean demand data and uncertainty in global grain flows are creating headwinds for the market. Researcher Ben Brown with University of Missouri's Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute says weaker-than-expected soybean crush, limited Chinese buying activity, and export disruptions in the Black Sea region...
Exports Key to Dairy's Next Chapter
For dairy producers, strong export demand has helped support the market in recent years, but questions remain about how long that momentum can continue. This is as milk supply grows and uncertainty surrounds trade relationships. Will Babler of Pinion Risk Management says the industry is balancing opportunity with risk....
Farm Bill 2.0 a Real Possibility Before Christmas
It's been a long time coming, but one ag economist very familiar with the process says Congress could very likely pass a Farm Bill before Christmas, regardless of what happens on Election Day. Dr. Bart Fischer, Co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University, has been involved in ever...
Managing Debt Becomes Critical as Farm Margins Tighten
As tighter margins pressure farm finances, lenders are seeing producers rely more heavily on borrowed capital to cover operating expenses. At the same time, higher interest rates are increasing the cost of carrying that debt, making cash flow management increasingly important. "When we see a certain industry becom...
Farmers Took the Money and Ran in Recent Grains Rally
The recent rally in grain prices was a welcome surprise to farmers, and many of them jumped at the opportunity to sell right away for cash. Tanner Ehmke, Lead Grains and Oilseeds Economist with CoBank, said farmers took the money and ran. "Well, think back to when farmers were early in the grain rally when they ha...
Brooks Schaffer Market Report for Tuesday, November 3rd
This is the SFN Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at brooks@palmettograin.com or 843-540-4540. Last week, corn had its fifth consecutive weekly loss, while wheat had its ninth consecutive weekly loss. The market continues to price in the corn crop USDA gave us, and maybe an even bigger one...
Southern Rice and Sugar Growers Hit Especially Hard by Expensive Diesel
Dr. Michael Deliberto is a professor of agricultural policy at Louisiana State University. goes over some of the ins and outs of the new USDA relief program. "But those payments will not be issued in early November, so it's unclear now how much those payments will actually make in terms of offsetting the rise in f...
Farm Financing Is a Tale of Two Economies
As harvest progresses across the Midwest, farm lenders are seeing very different financial conditions from one operation to the next. Chad Gent, senior vice president of retail credit for Farm Credit Services of America, says some producers are positioned to grow, while others are focused on maintaining financial stabi...