Jan Wolfe and Jess Bravin reported on the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal that, “The Supreme Court limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority over wetlands in a decision with broad ramifications for the environment, agriculture, energy and mining.”
Keith Good
Keith Good is the Farm Policy News editor for the farmdoc project. He has previously worked for the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, and compiled the daily FarmPolicy.com News Summary from 2003-2015. He is a graduate of Purdue University (M.S.- Agricultural Economics), and Southern Illinois University School of Law.
In Iowa, Record High Cash Rents, Up 9% in 2023
DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Dehlinger reported yesterday that, “The average cash rental rate for Iowa farmland climbed 9% in 2023 to $279 per acre, according to an annual survey conducted by Iowa State University Extension.”
China Shifting From Corn to Wheat in Animal Feed, as U.S. Drought Takes Toll on Hay Market
Reuters writers Dominique Patton and Naveen Thukral reported today that, “A surplus of cheap wheat in China is replacing significant volumes of corn in its huge animal feed market, say feed makers and analysts, curbing consumption of both corn and soymeal and potentially reducing demand for imports.”
Wheat Variables in Focus- U.S. Winter Wheat Condition Improves Slightly
Reuters writer Julie Ingwersen reported yesterday that, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s weekly crop progress report rated 31% of the U.S. winter wheat crop in good to excellent condition, up 2 percentage points from a week earlier and above an average of analysts’ expectations.”
Drought Plagues Kansas Winter Wheat Farmers, but “Global Wheat Market Seems to be Well-Supplied”
Reuters writer Tom Polansek reported on Monday that, “Farmers in Kansas, the biggest U.S. producer of wheat used to make bread, are abandoning their crops after a severe drought and damaging cold ravaged farms.”
Fertilizer Prices Mixed- Urea Climbs, Anhydrous Lower
DTN writer Russ Quinn reported last week that, “Retail fertilizer prices moved in opposite directions the second week of May 2023, according to sellers surveyed by DTN.”
Global Grains Production “Forecast to Hit an All Time High,” as Drought “Is Shrinking” U.S. Winter Wheat Crop
Dow Jones writer Yusuf Khan reported yesterday that, “Global production of wheat, corn, barley and other grains is forecast to hit an all time high in the forthcoming season, as strong supplies of corn in particular drive food production to record levels.”
Black Sea Grain Deal Extended for Two Months
Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Gulsin Harman reported in today’s New York Times that, “Ukraine and Russia agreed Wednesday to a two-month extension of a wartime deal that allows Ukraine to ship its grain across the Black Sea, a rare example of cooperation between the two countries.”
Global Soybean Production Forecast at Record Level, on Record Crops in Brazil, U.S.
In its monthly Oil Crops Outlook report yesterday, the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) indicated that, “U.S. soybean production for the 2023/24 marketing year (MY) is projected to climb by more than 5 percent to a record high of 4.5 billion bushels based on higher yield and marginally higher planted area.”
Global Corn, Wheat Production Forecast at a Record, While El Niño “a Potent New Variable”
In its monthly Grain: World Markets and Trade report late last week, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) indicated that, “Global corn production is forecast to sharply increase, driven primarily by a forecast of continued high production in Brazil and rebounds in the United States and Argentina. Supplies in Ukraine are forecast to fall as the ongoing war limits production.”
Record U.S. Corn, Soybean Production Expected, as U.S. Wheat “Stockpiles to Fall to 16-Year Low”
Bloomberg writers Michael Hirtzer and Tarso Veloso Ribeiro reported on Friday that, “America’s wheat fields have become so plagued by drought that farmers are now poised to abandon crops at the highest rate in more than a century.”
Federal Reserve Ag Credit Surveys- 2023 First Quarter
Late last week, the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, Kansas City and Minneapolis released updates regarding farm income, farmland values and agricultural credit conditions from the first quarter of 2023. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas also released its Agricultural Survey for the first quarter in late March.
Fertilizer Prices: “Somewhat Varied”
DTN writer Russ Quinn reported last week that, “For the first time in several months retail fertilizer prices are somewhat varied, according to prices tracked by DTN for the first week of May 2023.”
Supreme Court Upholds California’s Animal-Cruelty Law
Adam Liptak reported in Friday’s New York Times that, “The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a California law that sought to address cruelty to animals, saying the state could require pork sold there but produced elsewhere to come from breeding pigs housed in spaces that allow them to move around freely.”
“China May Cancel More US Corn,” as Extension Agreement on Black Sea Grain Deal “Nearing”
Bloomberg writer Hallie Gu reported today that, “Top corn importer China could cancel more purchases of the grain from the US because the country can buy more cheaply from Brazil and as some local producers of hog feed replace corn with wheat in their rations.”
Black Sea Grain Deal Talks Continue; FAS Highlights Russian Grain and Oilseed Exports
Reuters writer Daren Butler reported yesterday that, “Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday he thought the Ukraine Black Sea grain deal could be extended for at least two more months, as officials from the parties involved held the first day of talks on an extension in Istanbul.”
Food Prices Climb 7.7 Percent Over the Last Year
Gabriel T. Rubin reported on the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal that, “Inflation edged slightly lower in April, likely keeping the Federal Reserve on course to pause interest-rate increases at its next meeting.”
Black Sea Grain Exports Resume- at Slow Pace, as U.S. Corn Exports in Focus
Reuters writer Michelle Nichols reported yesterday that, “The United Nations said inspections resumed on Tuesday of outbound vessels under a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, which Moscow has threatened to quit on May 18 over obstacles to its own grain and fertilizer exports.”
No Black Sea Ship Inspections Sunday, Monday; China’s Foreign Minister Meets U.S. Ambassador
Reuters writer Michelle Nichols reported yesterday that, “The United Nations said no ships were inspected on Sunday or Monday under a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, which Moscow has threatened to quit on May 18 over obstacles to its own grain and fertilizer exports.”
Black Sea Grain Export Deal “Effectively Stopped,” Ukraine Says
Reuters writer Olena Harmash reported today that, “Russia has effectively stopped the Black sea grain deal by refusing to register incoming vessels, Ukraine’s reconstruction ministry said on Monday.”