2018 U.S. Farm Income Forecast Released
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) indicated on Wednesday that, "Net farm income, a broad measure of profits, is forecast to decrease $4.3 billion (6.7 percent) to…
House Ag Committee Hearing with Sec. Perdue: Trade Issues
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue testified before the House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday morning at a hearing on the “State of the Rural Economy.” Recall that back in May, shortly after…
Kansas City Fed: Ag Lending and Interest Expenses Increase for Farmers
An update on Friday from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City ("Agricultural Lending Increases, As Do Interest Expenses for Farmers," by Cortney Cowley and John McCoy) stated that, "Lending at agricultural…
Ag Economy: 2018 Outlook from CoBank; and Farmland Values
CoBank recently released a new report that explored a variety of issues that will impact the U.S. rural economy in 2018. In addition, recent newspaper articles have discussed reports relating…
Federal Reserve: Observations on the Ag Economy- January ’18
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its January 2018 Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District. The report included several observations…
Kansas City Fed Ag Outlook- Robust Corn, Soybean Production Make Exports Increasingly Important
Cortney Cowley, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, indicated in an update last week ("As Winter Looms, Key Risks Keep Ag Outlook Cool") that, "Following steep declines…
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Ag Credit Survey- Fourth Quarter 2017
Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released its Agricultural Credit Survey for the fourth quarter of 2017. The Fed update indicated that, "Demand for agricultural loans overall…
2018 Purdue University Outlook: Cash Rents, Farmland Values, Corn and Soybean Prices
The Agricultural Economics Department at Purdue University recently released its annual outlook report that contained 12 specific articles looking at various aspects of the U.S. agricultural economy. This post highlights…
Dairy, Livestock, and Trade Issues Highlighted in Recent USDA Reports
In the last few days, USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) and Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) have released three separate reports that contain current information relating to dairy sector analysis in…
Recent USDA-ERS Reports: Farm Structure (2017), and Evolving Distribution of Government Farm Payments (1991-2015)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) has recently released two separate reports that provide interesting perspective on the structure of U.S. agriculture. The first provides a detailed…
Iowa Farmland Values, and the Corn Belt Economy- “At a Crossroads”
The 2017 Iowa State University Land Value Survey was released on Tuesday, and showed that farmland values climbed 2% this year. The survey was conducted in November by the Center…
Federal Reserve: Observations on the Ag Economy- November ’17
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its November 2017 Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District. The report included several observations…
2017 U.S. Farm Income Forecast- November Update
On Wednesday, the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released its November 2017 Farm Income Forecast. This follows the August revision of the initial net farm income forecast released by ERS…
Rural America: Perspective from USDA Report, and Federal Reserve Ag Credit Survey
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its annual Rural America at a Glance report, which summarizes the status of conditions and trends in rural areas. In addition, the Federal Reserve…
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis: Impacts of Summer Drought in the Plains
An update last week from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis ("The worst they've ever seen," by Ashwini Sankar) explored some of the lingering impacts of this summer's severe drought…
Federal Reserve Ag Credit Surveys- 2017 Third Quarter Farm Economy Conditions in the Midwest
On Thursday, the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City each released updates regarding farm income, farmland values and agricultural credit conditions from the third quarter of…
Crop Choices, Farm Size: Changes in a Time of Low Corn and Soybean Prices
Recent news articles have documented that lower crop prices for commodities such as corn and soybeans have caused some producers to make changes to their traditional crop rotation, or to…
Survey Sheds Light on Farm Profitability, While Producers Cut Costs
A news release on Tuesday from the American Bankers Association (ABA) stated that, "Eighty-two percent of agricultural lenders reported a decline in farm profitability in the last 12 months, according…
Corn Belt: “Hoping to Breakeven,” in a “Persistently Weak” Ag Economy
An article on the front page of Saturday's Des Moines Register explored issues associated with corn and soybean production, prices, and farm profitability in Iowa. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank…
Federal Reserve: Observations on the Ag Economy- October ’17
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its October 2017 Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District. The report included several observations…