Earlier this week, Reuters writers P.j. Huffstutter and Bianca Flowers reported that, “Montana farmer Sarah Degn had big plans to invest the healthy profits she gleaned for her soybeans and wheat this year into upgrading her planter or buying a new storage bin.”
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.
Brazil Exports Corn to China, Amounts Could Increase, as Mexico Signals Softening of Planned Import Ban of U.S. GMO Corn
Bloomberg writer Tarso Veloso Ribeiro reported yesterday that, “The first vessel carrying Brazilian corn to China is set to sail Wednesday after a deal earlier this year between the two nations.”
As Some Grain Has Shifted to Rail From River, Railroad Strike Looms, Diesel Fuel Supply a Concern
Esther Fung reported in today’s Wall Street Journal that, “One of the country’s largest railroad unions said Monday that its members voted to reject a new wage deal brokered by the White House, splitting with another large union and moving closer to a labor strike as soon as early December.”
Farm Bill Passage, “About to Get Much Harder”
Kristina Peterson reported in today’s Wall Street Journal that, “House Republicans had a tough time passing the last farm bill, when they had a sizable majority in 2018. It’s about to get much harder.”
Black Sea Export Deal Extended For Another 120 Days
Financial Times writers Roman Olearchyk and Ayla Jean Yackley reported today that, “Ukraine says negotiators from Kyiv and Moscow have agreed to prolong a UN and Turkish-brokered Black Sea grain export agreement, a crucial step to alleviating a global food crisis triggered by the conflict.”
Global Wheat Ending Stocks Tightest Since 2016/17, But Some See Global Food Price Declines for Next Year
In its monthly Wheat Outlook report earlier this week, the USDA’s Economic Research Service pointed out that, “2022/23 global ending stocks are projected up 0.3 MMT to 267.8 MMT but remain the tightest since 2016/17.”
Kremlin Expected to Extend Black Sea Export Deal
Bloomberg News reported today that, “Russia is expected to agree to extend a United Nations-brokered deal allowing exports of Ukrainian grain and other farm products from the Black Sea, ensuring a vital flow of foodstuffs to the world market.”
Farmland Values, Production Costs in Focus, No Agreement on Black Sea Export Deal, While Biden and Xi Meet
Linda Qiu reported in today’s New York Times that, “Joel Gindo thought he could finally own and operate the farm of his dreams when a neighbor put up 160 acres of cropland for sale in Brookings County, S.D., two years ago.”
Federal Reserve Ag Credit Surveys- 2022 Third Quarter
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, Kansas City and Minneapolis released updates regarding farm income, farmland values and agricultural credit conditions from the third quarter of 2022. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas also released its Agricultural Survey for the third quarter last month.
Food Prices Increase in October, at Slower Pace
New York Times writer Ana Swanson reported yesterday that, “Food prices continued to grow in October, inflating grocery bills for American households, though at a slightly slower pace than in previous months. The price of food rose 0.6 percent last month, down from 0.8 percent growth in September.”
UN, Russia to Discuss Black Sea Export Deal, Mexican GM Corn Purchases an Issue, as Mississippi River Water Levels Highlighted
Reuters writer Michelle Nichols reported yesterday that, “Top U.N. officials will meet a senior Russian delegation in Geneva on Friday to discuss extending a Ukraine Black Sea grain export deal and efforts to smooth shipments of Russian food and fertilizers to global markets, the United Nations said.”
USDA Sees More Corn, Wheat Acres and Less Soybeans in 2023/24 Crop Year
Earlier this week, Reuters writer Julie Ingwersen reported that, “The USDA on Monday released unofficial annual ‘baseline’ forecasts projecting that U.S. farmers are likely to expand plantings of corn and wheat for the upcoming 2023/24 marketing year, while reducing seedings of soybeans.”
Interest Rates in Focus, Ukraine Grain Exports, and Rail Strike Concerns
In a recent update from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, “Steady Growth in Farm Lending,” Nate Kauffman and Ty Kreitman indicated that, “Larger sized operating loans continued to boost farm lending activity. The volume of non-real estate farm loans increased by more than 10% for the third consecutive quarter.”
Drought Impact on Mississippi May Persist, China Soybean Imports Down From Last Year, as U.S. Sets Fiscal Year Agricultural Trade Record
Ag Meteorologist Bryce Anderson reported on Friday at DTN that, “October was dry in many primary U.S. crop areas, including the Eastern Midwest and specifically the Ohio River valley. Precipitation totals in the Ohio Valley were no more than half the normal totals. This lack of moisture was a big contributor to low water levels on the Mississippi River system.”
FAO Food Price Index Steady in October, While Fertilizer Prices in Focus
Bloomberg writer Megan Durisin reported today that, “Global food prices steadied in October, as supply disruptions wrought by the war in Ukraine were partly offset by slowing demand for staples.”
Insurers Resume Black Sea Grain Cargo Coverage After Russia Rejoins Accord, While Mississippi River Woes in Focus
Ivan Nechepurenko and Matthew Mpoke Bigg reported in today’s New York Times that, “Russia on Wednesday rejoined an agreement allowing the shipment of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, one of the few areas of cooperation amid the war in Ukraine, easing uncertainty over the fate of a deal seen as crucial to preventing famine in other parts of the world.”
Russia to Rejoin Black Sea Export Deal, as Mississippi River Water Level Concerns Persist
Financial Times writers Ayla Jean Yackley and Max Seddon reported today that, “Grain shipments from Ukraine will resume on Wednesday after Russia agreed to rejoin a UN-backed initiative to allow their export, ending a stand-off that threatened to reignite a global food crisis.”
Russia Threatens Ships Sailing Ukraine’s Grain Export Corridor, Calls Movement “Unacceptable”
Jared Malsin and Alistair MacDonald reported in today’s Wall Street Journal that, “Russia threatened to stop vessels carrying grain from Ukraine, two days after Moscow said it would abandon an agreement that guaranteed the safety of those exports and as ships continued to make the voyages Monday anyway.”
Ukraine, Turkey and UN Agree on Movement Plan for 16 Vessels from Ukrainian Port- Wheat, Corn Futures Rise
Bloomberg writers Selcan Hacaoglu, Agnieszka de Sousa, and Daryna Krasnolutska reported yesterday that, “Turkey, the UN and others looked for ways to salvage the Ukrainian grain export initiative after Moscow said it would pull out indefinitely following an attack on its Black Sea naval fleet.”
Russia Suspends Participation in Black Sea Export Deal
Financial Times writers Polina Ivanova, Christopher Miller and Emiko Terazono reported yesterday that, “Moscow has suspended its participation in a UN-backed deal with Kyiv that unblocked the movement of Ukrainian grain out of its southern ports, threatening to deepen the global food crisis.”