Agricultural Economy

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its October 2023 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.

Reuters writer Karl Plume reported yesterday that, “Low water levels on the lower Mississippi River are likely to persist through at least January despite expected above-normal precipitation across the southern United States this winter, forecasters with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Thursday.”

DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Micik Dehlinger reported yesterday that, “The retail prices of all eight major fertilizers climbed higher in the second week of October, with anhydrous, MAP and UAN32 posting the largest gains.”

DTN Managing Editor Anthony Greder reported yesterday that, “The nation’s soybean harvest jumped to a 10-point lead over the five-year average, and the corn harvest also remained slightly ahead of the average pace by the end of last week as farmers in some areas rushed to get in as much fieldwork as they could ahead of heavy rains, USDA NASS reported in its weekly Crop Progress report on Monday.”

Peter S. Goodman reported in Sunday’s New York Times that, “Farmers are grappling with shocks that made fertilizer scarce and unaffordable, diminishing harvests, raising food prices and spreading hunger.”

In its monthly Grain: World Markets and Trade report on Thursday, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service indicated that, “Since June 2023, hot and dry conditions along the Mississippi River valley caused river levels to dip well below historical averages.”

Reuters writer Mark Weinraub reported yesterday that, “U.S. corn and soybean harvests will be smaller than previously forecast, with hot and dry weather during critical parts of the growing season dragging on yields, the government said on Thursday.”

DTN writer Russ Quinn reported yesterday that, “Retail fertilizer prices continued to be evenly split the first week of October 2023 with half lower and half higher compared to last month, according to sellers surveyed by DTN.”

Emily Anthes reported on the front page of today’s New York Times that, “Scientists have used the gene-editing technology known as CRISPR to create chickens that have some resistance to avian influenza, according to a new study that was published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday.”

Late last week, Reuters writer Tom Polansek reported that, “The U.S. has detected its first case of avian flu on a commercial poultry farm since April, in a flock of 47,300 turkeys in Jerauld County, South Dakota, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.”

In its October Market Monitor report, the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) indicated that, “Fertilizer prices were mostly up in September along with prices for main fertilizer inputs.”

In its weekly Grain Transportation report on Thursday, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service indicated that, “The Mississippi River System (MRS) comprises the Nation’s primary waterways for moving grain from Midwest production areas to the U.S. Gulf region for export.  Close to 60 percent of U.S. grain exports (wheat, soybeans, and corn) travel this route by barge.”

DTN writer Russ Quinn reported yesterday that, “Retail fertilizer prices tracked by DTN for the fourth week of September 2023 are showing a more pronounced split as some prices rise and others fall.”

Reuters writer Julie Ingwersen reported yesterday that, “The U.S. corn and soy harvests were 23% complete by Sunday, government data showed on Monday, slightly behind analysts’ expectations that both crops would be 25% harvested.”

Late last week, DTN reported that, “United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on Sept. 1, 2023, was 74.3 million head. This was up slightly from Sept. 1, 2022, and up 2% from June 1, 2023, USDA NASS reported on Thursday.”

Dow Jones writer Kirk Maltais reported on Friday that, “Wheat for December delivery fell 6.6% to $5.40 3/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, with heavy selling taking place after the USDA reported both higher production and higher stockpiles than expected by analysts.”

Bloomberg writer Michael Hirtzer reported on Friday that, “America’s crop exports are once again at risk due to a diminished Mississippi River.”

Reuters writer Pavel Polityuk reported today that, “Russia carried out a big wave of air strikes on three Ukrainian regions early on Thursday in which Ukrainian officials said some attack drones had hit their targets but did not say what was damaged.”

Bloomberg writers Kim Chipman and Tarso Veloso Ribeiro reported yesterday that, “For US corn farmers, the rise of green jet fuel is their best hope of staving off an existential threat.”

Donnelle Eller reported on the front page of Sunday’s Des Moines Register that, “Drought, now [Iowa’s] longest in two decades, encompasses most of Iowa, a new U.S. Drought Monitor shows. Nearly three-fourths of the state is gripped in severe to exceptional drought, including large swaths of eastern Iowa.”