The United States Department of Agriculture this week raised its fiscal year 2024 agricultural export and import forecasts by $1 billion each, holding steady its estimate of a $30.5 billion U.S. ag trade deficit in 2024. Fiscal year 2024 exports are now forecast at $170.5 billion, while imports are estimated at $201.0 billion. An ag […]
Ryan Hanrahan
Ryan Hanrahan is the Farm Policy News editor and social media director for the farmdoc project. He has previously worked in local news, primarily as an agriculture journalist in the American West. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri (B.S. Science & Agricultural Journalism). He can be reached at rrh@illinois.edu.
Wildfires Threatening Texas Ag Producers
NBC News’ Patrick Smith reported Wednesday that “Texas farmers and ranchers are facing the ‘destruction’ of their livelihoods as a result of wildfires that have continued to rage through the panhandle this week into today, the state’s agriculture commissioner said.” “‘These fires not only threaten lives and property but also have a significant impact on […]
Government Shutdown Looms Amid Crop Insurance Deadline
Forbe’s Simon Moore reported Tuesday that “without passage of a budget or a continuing resolution, four appropriations areas of the U.S. government would shut down at midnight on March 1. This includes Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration; Energy and Water Development; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; and Transportation, Housing and Urban […]
Temperatures Records Likely to be Broken
Fox Weather’s Emilee Speck reported Monday that “hundreds of temperature records – record highs and record-warm lows – are expected to fall through midweek, with Monday and Tuesday forecast to be the warmest days across the Plains and Midwest. On Monday, more than 250 million Americans will experience above-average temperatures.” “According to the FOX Forecast […]
Corn Dropped Below $4 Last Week
Reuters’ P.J. Huffstutter reported that “Chicago Board of Trade corn futures (last) Friday dipped below $4 per bushel in the front-month contract Cc1 for the first time since November 2020, as hefty U.S. and global supplies weighed over the market.” May corn futures prices, however, remained above $4, closing at just above $4.13 last Friday. […]
Brazil, Argentina Crop Production Estimates Cut
Soybean production estimates for Argentina and Brazil, along with corn production estimates for Argentina, were lowered earlier this week by agribusiness consultancy Agroconsult and the Rosario Grains Exchange. “Brazil’s 2023/2024 soybean crop estimate has been reduced to 152.2 million metric tons from the previous estimate of 153.8 million tons, agribusiness consultancy Agroconsult said on Tuesday, […]
Farmer Protests Spread Across Europe
Farmer protests have spread across the European Union — and further — in recent weeks, according to reporting from Reuters’ Sybille De La Hamaide and Gus Trompiz, with farmers “saying they are facing rising costs and taxes, red tape, excessive environmental rules and competition from cheap food imports.” “Demonstrations have been taking place for weeks […]
Year-Round E15 Sales to be Approved for Midwest States in 2025
Reuters’ Jarrett Renshaw and Stephanie Kelly reported Tuesday that “the White House will approve a request from a group of Midwest governors to allow year-round sales of gasoline with higher blends of ethanol (in their states), but will push the start date into next year, two sources familiar with discussions said.” “The decision will likely […]
First Ship Abandoned After Red Sea Attack
Bloomberg’s Omar Tamo, Mohammed Hatem, and Alex Longley reported Monday that “the crew of a commercial ship in the Red Sea abandoned the vessel following a Houthi attack — the first such evacuation since the militant group began menacing trade in the vital waterway late last year.” “The strikes on the Rubymar, a relatively small […]
Biden Admin to Back Tougher Ethanol Climate Model
Reuters reported Friday that “President Joe Biden’s administration is poised to announce an adjustment to its scientific modeling for ethanol that will show the corn-based fuel to be less effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions than previously estimated, three sources briefed on the plans told Reuters.” “The adjustment, previously unreported, will make it more difficult […]
USDA Projects Decreased 2024 Planted Acreage
The United States Department of Agriculture reported Thursday that “initial expectations for 2024 planted area are for a decline in total planted area of corn, wheat, and soybeans relative to the previous year. Combined acreage for the three crops is projected at 225.5 million acres — a decline of about 1 percent reflecting expectations of […]
Crop Insurance Costs Projected to Jump 29%
Successful Farming’s Chuck Abbott reported Tuesday that “the federally subsidized crop insurance program will cost an additional $27.7 billion over the coming decade, said the Congressional Budget Office in projections released on Monday. The government pays roughly 62¢ of each $1 in premiums, and sales of livestock and forage policies are exploding.” “Crop insurance costs […]
Ag Census Finds Fewer Farms
The United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service published data from the 2022 Census of Agriculture on Tuesday, a release that happens every 5 years. Among the most significant highlights was a decrease in the total number of farms in the U.S. from 2.04 million in 2017 to 1.90 million in 2022. Here […]
Ag Groups Seek Dicamba Stocks Order
Progressive Farmer’s Todd Neeley reported last week that “state and national associations representing soybean and cotton growers and the head of the American Farm Bureau Federation have asked EPA to issue an order to allow farmers to use existing stocks of over-the-top (OTT) dicamba herbicides after a federal court this week vacated the registrations of […]
Soybean Futures Continue Falling
Bloomberg’s Gerson Freitas Jr reported that last week, “soybeans capped an eighth straight week of losses, the longest stretch of declines since 2006, on an outlook for record global stockpiles and sluggish appetite for US exports.” “The losing streak underscores how soybean traders have lacked any incentive to buy futures of the commodity used in […]
Farm Income Forecast to Fall in 2024
The United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service reported Wednesday that “net farm income, a broad measure of profits, is forecast at $116.1 billion in calendar year 2024, a decrease of $39.8 billion (25.5 percent) relative to 2023 in nominal (not adjusted for inflation) dollars.” “After adjusting for inflation, net farm income is forecast […]
Lawmakers Launch Ag Trade Caucus
“United States Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Adrian Smith (R-NE), Jim Costa (D-CA), and Dusty Johnson (R-SD) announced the launch of the bipartisan Congressional Agricultural Trade Caucus” late last week, according to a press release from Panetta’s office. The caucus, which had been in development since September 2023, will “advance and promote policies vital to U.S. agriculture, […]
Trump Considering 60% Tariff on China
CNBC’s Rebecca Picciotto reported Sunday that “former President Donald Trump plans to escalate the U.S-China trade war he launched during his first term as president if he is elected to the office again in November.” “The GOP frontrunner confirmed in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he is considering a plan to impose tariffs of […]
Mexico Buying US Corn Despite Dispute
Reuters’ Karen Braun reported last week that “the United States has been losing corn export business to Brazil as the South American country continues expanding its output, though top customer Mexico has secured a record volume of U.S. corn for shipment this year.” “That is despite an active dispute between the United States and Mexico […]
Fed Rates Unchanged in January
CNBC’s Jeff Cox reported that “the Federal Reserve on Wednesday sent a tepid signal that it is done raising interest rates but made it clear that it is not ready to start cutting, with a March move lower increasingly unlikely.” “Policy makers have kept their benchmark interest rate between 5.25% and 5.5% — the highest […]