Agricultural Economy

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.

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

Brady Dennis, Laris Karklis, Scott Dance and Tim Meko reported on the front page of today’s Washington Post that, “The nation’s mightiest, most mythic waterway has been strangled by months of dry conditions, which have sent water levels plummeting to historic lows.”

Reuters writer Michelle Nichols reported yesterday that, “United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Wednesday that he was ‘relatively optimistic’ that a U.N.-brokered deal that allowed a resumption of Ukraine Black Sea grain exports would be extended beyond mid-November.”

Cameron McWhirter reported in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal that, “Barge traffic continued to struggle along the Mississippi River and its tributaries as low water caused boats and barges to run aground on sandbars up and down the river system. Areas near Memphis and other cities saw record-low river levels this week.”

Reuters writer Karl Plume reported yesterday that, “Low water levels on the Mississippi River are likely to persist this winter as drier-than-normal weather is expected across the southern United States and Gulf Coast, U.S. government forecasters said on Thursday.”

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its October 2022 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.

Bloomberg writers Elizabeth Elkin and Tarso Veloso Ribeiro reported yesterday that, “Fertilizer prices are falling as farmers balking at the high costs of nutrients hold off on purchases, driving down demand and causing gluts that are upending the market for crop inputs.”

Bloomberg writers Michael Hirtzer and Diego Lasarte reported yesterday that, “Drought has again closed a portion of the Mississippi River — and this time shrunk a part of the major US waterway in Memphis to its lowest level ever.”

Cameron McWhirter reported in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal that, “Sections of the Mississippi River are approaching low water levels not seen in more than three decades, disrupting a vital supply lane for agriculture, oil and building materials and threatening businesses including barge and towboat operators, farmers and factories.”

Don Lee reported on the front page of today’s Los Angeles Times that, “That turkey you’re planning for the big family get-together is going to give you a nasty peck on the pocketbook. So will the flour for the gravy and the butter for the rolls.”

Bloomberg’s Brian K Sullivan, Joe Deaux, and Michael Hirtzer reported earlier this week that, “The Mississippi River isn’t out of the woods as falling water levels along its major tributaries threaten to deepen a crisis on the US’s main artery for moving vital products.”

David G. Savage reported in today’s Los Angeles Times that, “The Supreme Court justices sounded wary Tuesday of California’s animal welfare law and its protections for breeding pigs, warning it could set off a wave of state laws that put a wide array of restrictions on products moving nationwide.”

Bloomberg writers Kim Chipman and Megan Durisin reported yesterday that, “Wheat closed at the highest price since June as traders considered a worsening Russia-Ukraine war against lackluster US grain demand.”

Financial Times writers Roman Olearchyk, Mehul Srivastava, Max Seddon, and Christopher Miller reported today that, “Vladimir Putin has described Russia’s massive airstrikes on Ukraine, its most extensive since the early weeks of his seven-month invasion, as retaliation for the bombing of the bridge linking Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.”