Agricultural Economy

Bloomberg News reported this week that, “Chinese authorities are imposing new hurdles for fertilizer exporters amid growing concerns over surging power prices and food production, a move that could worsen a global price shock and food inflation.”

On Thursday, Bloomberg writers Tatiana Freitas and Fabiana Batista reported that, “Brazilian farmer Antonio Carlos Jacobsen usually buys fertilizer a few weeks before planting his corn fields. Soaring fertilizer prices are pushing him to move up purchases for the March seeding — although it may already be too late.”

Des Moines Register writer Donnelle Eller reported this week that, “After last year’s destructive derecho, which flattened corn and stripped soybean across the state, better-than-expected yields and strong prices are making this harvest a profitable one for Iowa farmers lucky enough to have gotten the much-needed rain.”

Bloomberg writers Michael Hirtzer and Kim Chipman reported this week that, “It turns out that 2021 was a pretty good year to be an American farmer.” 

Bloomberg writer Elizabeth Elkin reported on Friday that, “A gauge of North American fertilizer prices soared to a record high, driving up costs for farmers and threatening to worsen food inflation.”

Bloomberg writer Megan Durisin reported on Thursday that, “The jump in global food prices to a decade high risks leading to even more expensive grocery bills, and the energy crisis is threatening to make things even worse.”

Bloomberg’s Mike Dorning reported last week that, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture has potentially found a vaccine to combat African Swine Fever, a disease that devastated hog herds in China and was recently detected in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the agency said Thursday.”

Bloomberg writer Kim Chipman reported this week that, “Corn and wheat rebounded in Chicago as ripple effects from soaring fertilizer prices threatens to squeeze already tight grain supplies.”

Wall Street Journal writers Jesse Newman and Bob Tita reported in Monday’s paper that, “A revival in the U.S. Farm Belt is in full swing, boosting markets for land and equipment and raising concerns over farmers’ escalating costs.”

Reuters writer Nigel Hunt reported last week that, “The International Grains Council (IGC) on Thursday raised its forecast for the 2021/22 global corn crop, predominately reflecting improved outlooks for the United States and Ukraine.”

In an update from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City earlier this month (“Financing of Ag Production Loans Eases Further”), Nathan Kauffman and Ty Kreitman stated that, “Farm debt at commercial banks continued to ease in the second quarter.”

Earlier this week, the, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri released its latest baseline update for U.S. farm income and government costs.

Earlier this month, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri released its latest baseline update for U.S. agricultural markets.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its August 2021 Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District.

The USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) indicated on Thursday that, “Net farm income, a broad measure of profits, is forecast to increase by $18.5 billion (19.5 percent) from 2020 to $113.0 billion in 2021.”

DTN Meteorologist John Baranick reported earlier this week that, “Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana at 11:55 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2021 as a strong Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained wind speeds at landfall of 150 mph.”

Bloomberg writer Marcy Nicholson reported this week that, “Canada, the world’s biggest canola grower and a major wheat producer, forecasts a 26% drop in supplies of its main crops as drought ravages output and inventories shrink.”

Earlier this week, Bloomberg writers Kim Chipman and Michael Hirtzer reported that, “Minnesota farmer Jason Knopik didn’t sell corn earlier this year as prices soared, missing out on one of the biggest rallies in a generation. Now he’s grappling with inflation.”

Wall Street Journal writer Kirk Maltais reported on Tuesday that, “Drought is blistering key U.S. cash crops, further elevating prices for staples including corn and wheat.”

Financial Times writers Emiko Terazono and Michael Pooler reported this week that, “After enduring the worst drought in nearly a century followed by a bout of cold temperatures, areas within Brazil’s farming belt are braced for further adversity as the La Niña weather phenomenon threatens to bring more dry conditions later this year.”