agricultural economy

On Tuesday, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri released its Baseline Update for U.S. Farm Income and the Farm Balance Sheet.  Today's update includes brief highlights from the baseline update.

Today’s update looks at a variety of information sources that highlight recent developments relating to farmland values, with particular focus on Illinois, Iowa and the States in the Minneapolis Federal Reserve District.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its August 2018 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.

The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri recently released its latest baseline update for U.S. agricultural markets.  Today’s post summarizes highlights from the August FAPRI baseline report.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) indicated on Thursday that, "Net farm income, a broad measure of profits, is forecast to decrease $9.8 billion (13.0 percent) from 2017 to $65.7 billion in 2018, after increasing $13.9 billion (22.5 percent) in 2017. Net cash farm income is forecast to decrease $12.4 billion (12.0 percent) to $91.5 billion."

Reuters writer Gus Trompiz reported on Wednesday that, "European farmers are counting the cost of a summer heatwave that has shrunk cereal harvests and shriveled pastures, leaving some farms struggling to survive and shutting the EU out of lucrative export markets."

In its August Grain: World Markets and Trade report on Friday, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) stated that, "Combined wheat production in the European Union, Russia, and Ukraine is forecast down 12 percent from last year to the lowest level in 5 years. The EU wheat crop is down 9 percent from last year on hot, dry weather in the northern Member States, while production in Russia and Ukraine is down from recent bumper crops on a return to normal yields."

On Thursday, the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City released updates regarding farm income, farmland values and agricultural credit conditions from the second quarter of 2018.  Recall that the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas issued a similar update last month.  Today’s update highlights core findings from Thursday’s reports.