There's an immense amount of pressure riding on this year’s crop production picture, and with a margin squeeze setting in across farms, economists think it could accelerate consolidation in the row-crop industry.
USDA assumes that $1.504 billion of ERP Phase 2 claims will be filed by July 14, but we believe the final number will be much lower. Here's a rundown from Paul Neiffer.
If you purchase or inherit a new farm, you might be able to deduct the excess soil fertility. However, there is very little guidance on this deduction from the IRS.
With all the talk about artificial intelligence, there's a new debate: is AI actually real or just a combination of Siri and other search databases? John Phipps addresses a U.S. Farm Report viewer's skepticism.
Wednesday's interest rate decision broke a streak of 10 straight meetings where the Fed announced higher rates. Officials say another half-a-percentage-point hike is likely yet this year.
The Inflation Reduction Act is the most significant climate legislation ever enacted. The package includes more than $19 billion to support USDA conservation programs, but the money won't last forever.
Plenty of farmers started young, worked hard and found a path forward. Along the way, they learned from mistakes and celebrated successes. Farming is hard, but here's why those who have taken the road say it's worth it.
National enrollment in ag and related science majors at two-year institutions grew 41% in Fall 2021. The Community College Ag Advancement Act aims to give these students more industry opportunities.
The latest Ag Economy Barometer shows farmer sentiment has soured as crop prices have tumbled over the past month, but it's not all gloom and doom. Strong working capital can help address the downturn in farm country.
Despite the positive sentiment, local community bankers report concerns about lower commodity prices, the ‘big bank mess’ and another potential rate hike in June by the Fed.
The rapid runup in land values caused farmland values to hit historic levels over the past two years. The dynamics are starting to shift, as input prices, interest rates and commodity prices are eating into outlooks.
The economic environment today is similar to the 1970s and into the mid-80s. Although we are not expecting a 1980s-style farm collapse, there are lessons and opportunities to gain from a milder version of the 1980s.
This act requires most farm operations that filed with the Secretary of State to file an online report beginning in 2024. The penalties for not doing so are $500 per day, Here's a webinar that breaks down the basics.
Michael Swanson says we’ve likely seen the peak for food inflation last summer. What drove the 14% food inflation since the COVID pandemic has been four factors: transportation, labor, shipping and packaging.
The “Wood Milk” ad— funded through MilkPEP —goal is to make people pause and question what they are consuming and the nutritional value of their choices.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) created new Section 45Z "Clean Fuel Production Credit" starting in 2025. Will this credit lead to extra payments to farmers?
In the biggest con in agriculture history, Anthony De Angelis stole over $1 billion, shook Wall Street to its core, humiliated big banking, embarrassed USDA, and ushered in the rise of Warren Buffet.
The food system is being reimagined today and farmers can benefit by thinking about how to improve their ability to take advantage of opportunities in the process, says Rob Dongoski with Ernst and Young.
Scale tickets from elevators could soon be a document of the past. In the future, your grain could have all its characteristics filed digitally and accessed via a QR code as it moves through the supply chain.
Art Johnson’s farm has been in the family for nearly a century. What was once a tobacco farm in Kernersville, NC, is now a thriving agritourism business that attracts up to 1,000 people each day during the spring.
Farmers are facing a headwind other than the weather heading into the spring planting sesaon. Credit is tightening as farmers finalize or renew operating notes or loans for capital purchases.
If weather conditions allow crop yields to return to trend-line levels in 2023, prices for corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and many other crops are likely to fall.
Rich Redmond has created a no-nonsense system to supercharge your personal and professional life, whether you are a farmer or the drummer for Jason Aldean.
Agricultural lending by U.S. farm banks increased 8.1% in 2022 to $103.1 billion, according to the American Bankers Association's annual Farm Bank Performance Report.
The Fed hiked rates 25bps at last week’s FMOC meeting and indicated it will stay the course. So why are forward yields (1 year through 30 year still lower, suggesting Fed easing?)
On March 22, there will be the next Federal Interest Rate Decision; 75% probability of a quarter percentage point increase to a range of 4.75% to 5.00%
STB Chairman Martin Oberman hosted a press conference—the first of its kind that he said anyone could remember—to explain more behind the decision, which approves the first major merger in 25 years.
Total land in farms decreased 1.9 million acres to 893,400,000 acres in 2022 versus 2021. Here is other noteworthy farmland data, courtesy of USDA’s Farms and Land in Farms 2022 Summary.
Skeptic, heretic, eccentric, disruptor—Roy Pfaltzgraff pleads guilty to all. “People think I’m crazy. They’re right, I am crazy, but I’m also the owner of a farm that is working great.”
What is the state of the U.S. economy? How will these macro factors impact the agricultural economy? John Deere's Kanlaya Barr provides a guide to a few risks you should monitor in the next year.
Has U.S. gasoline demand peaked? And what will more electric vehicles mean for gasoline prices down the road? John Phipps looks into the issue in John's World.
Reps. Dusty Johnson and Jim Costa on Tuesday introduced the Safer Highways and Increased Performance for Interstate Trucking (SHIP IT) Act to expand the trucking workforce and offer flexibility in times of need.
For example, Rep. Ralph Norman in the past unsuccessfully pushed crop insurance amendments that would have cut premium incentives/subsidies by 15% for producers with specified adjusted gross incomes.
Consumer preferences can totter between fads and trends. For farmers to capitalize on consumer demands, they must be able to sort out which market opportunities to pursue, says Rob Dongoski with Ernst & Young.
Looking ahead we see an environment of margin pressure amidst a slowing economy, rising interest rates, high labor and energy costs (namely diesel fuel), and trade uncertainty with China and possibly Mexico.
“You can begin at any point in the year, but the power of this is that by improving yourself first, others follow,” says Mark Faust, president of Echelon Management.
