Financial Times writer Emiko Terazono reported last week that, “Global food prices have reached their highest in almost seven years, further raising the spectre of food inflation and hunger at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic continues to hit economies around the world.”
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.
EPA Nominee Michael Regan Draws Bipartisan Support, Says RFS is a Priority
Wall Street Journal writer Timothy Puko reported this week that, “Michael Regan, President Biden’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, drew bipartisan support at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, including from North Carolina Republicans who said he has a history of working constructively with businesses.”
Senate Ag Committee Advances Ag Secretary Nominee Tom Vilsack
On Tuesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a confirmation hearing for Secretary of Agriculture nominee Tom Vilsack.
Kansas City Fed: “Pullback” in New Farm Loans Continues
A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (“Ag Lending Update: Fewer New Loans to Farmers,” by Ty Kreitman and Cortney Cowley) stated that, “Lending activity at commercial banks continued to slow in the fourth quarter, according to the National Survey of Terms of Lending to Farmers. The volume of total non-real estate farm loans declined by about 1% from a year ago, but remained slightly above the 10-year average in the fourth quarter.”
China “On Course” to be World’s Top Corn Importer, as Biden Administration “Reviews” Phase One Deal
Last week, Reuters writers Mark Weinraub and Karl Plume reported that, “China booked its biggest purchase of U.S. corn yet, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday, buying more at once than any country except the Soviet Union 30 years ago, as it tries to meet a surge in demand for animal feed.”
Unrelenting Chinese Demand Boosts Corn Prices
Bloomberg writers Kim Chipman and Nicholas Larkin reported this week that, “Corn prices in Chicago reached a seven-year high with China’s appetite for the grain stoking global supply concerns.”
Corn, Soybean Prices Have Soared, Adding Firmness to Farmland Values
Jesse Newman reported on the front page of Saturday’s Wall Street Journal that, “A crop glut that battered American farmers is subsiding, fueling an unexpected recovery in the U.S. Farm Belt following a yearslong agricultural recession.”
China’s 2020 Phase One Ag Purchases Well Below Target, But Back Up to 2017 Levels
Late last week, Aime Williams and Justin Jacobs reported at The Financial Times Online that, “China has purchased less than three-fifths of the US goods projected under the “phase one” trade deal that paused a tariff dispute between the two countries a year ago, posing another challenge for the administration of Joe Biden in its relations with Beijing.”
Pork Export Variables and China
Earlier this month, in its Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Trade report, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) stated that, “Driven by higher estimates for pork, the China total meat import forecasts for both 2020 and 2021 are revised 4 and 1 percent higher, respectively. While pork import growth slowed in the fourth quarter of 2020, it nevertheless exceeded expectations and results in a more bullish outlook for 2021.”
In Last-Minute Move, Trump Administration Grants Three Refinery RFS Exemptions, But Court Stays EPA Action
Bloomberg writers Kim Chipman and Jennifer A Dlouhy reported on Tuesday that, “The Trump administration granted three oil refineries exemptions from biofuel-blending requirements in a last-minute move, prompting quick rebuke from ethanol and biodiesel producers.”
Chinese Demand Undergirds Robust Soybean, Corn Prices
Reuters writers Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton reported last week that, “China’s soybean imports jumped 13% to an annual record in 2020, customs data showed on Thursday, after crushers ramped up purchases amid improved margins and healthy demand from the country’s rapidly recovering pig sector.”
EPA Seeks Input on E15 Labels and RFS General Waiver
Bloomberg writers Jennifer A Dlouhy and Kim Chipman reported late last week that, “The Trump administration advanced a flurry of biofuel policy proposals Friday, including plans that could help ethanol producers sell more of the corn-based fuel.”
Federal Reserve: Observations on the Ag Economy- January 2021
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its January 2021 Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District. The report included several observations pertaining to the U.S. agricultural economy.
Administration Could Grant Last-Minute Biofuel Waivers
Earlier this week, Reuters writers Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw reported that, “The Trump administration is expected to grant waivers to some oil refiners that would exempt them from requirements to blend biofuels into their fuel mix for the 2019 compliance year, according to two sources familiar with the matter.”
Need for Animal Feed: China Approves GMO Corn Varieties
Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that, “China approved two genetically modified corn varieties from Bayer AG and Syngenta AG for imports as demand for animal feed surges.”
FAO Food Price Index Reaches Six-Year High, But Below 2011 Peak
Reuters News reported last week that, “World food prices rose for a seventh consecutive month in December, with all the major categories, barring sugar, posting gains last month, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.”
Supreme Court to Take Up Biofuel-Blending Waivers
Bloomberg writer Jennifer A Dlouhy reported on Friday that, “The Supreme Court will review the ability of oil refineries to win exemptions from federal biofuel-blending quotas, a blow to producers of ethanol and biodiesel that had challenged the waivers.”
As 2021 Begins, Some Ag Commodity Prices Climb, Including Corn and Soybeans
Bloomberg writers Kim Chipman and Megan Durisin reported on Wednesday that, “Soybean futures in Chicago extended their winning streak for a sixth day and corn exceeded $5 a bushel on expectations that the U.S. will cut domestic supply forecasts for the crops.”
Phase One Ag Targets Lag, But U.S. Soybean and Corn Exports to China Surge
Last week, Bloomberg News reported that, “China is far away from meeting its U.S. trade-deal commitments, with the latest data showing it’s imported just over half of the American goods it promised to buy in the first year of the phase-one agreement.”
CRS Report, “USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program: Round Two (CFAP-2)”
Last month, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report titled, “USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program: Round Two (CFAP-2).” Today’s update includes highlights from the report, which was authored by Randy Schnepf.