Agricultural Economy

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its May 2017 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.

Yesterday, the Senate Ag Committee held a hearing titled, “Examining the Farm Economy: Perspectives on Rural America,” where lawmakers heard testimony from four witnesses, including the Chief Economist from USDA, and a Federal Reserve Bank district economist. Today’s update provides an overview of yesterday’s meeting with particular emphasis on crop prices, land values, and trade. Recall that the House Ag Committee held a similar hearing on the farm economy back in February.

Donnelle Eller reported on the front page of Sunday’s Des Moines Register that, “This year could be pivotal for many Iowa farmers, battling to turn a profit as they plant 23.4 million corn and soybean acres across the state. Financial pressure is beginning to show.”

Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal included a special section on agricultural issues. The section included several articles that covered a variety of different topics ranging from urban farming, to creative new uses for crops, to export shipping issues. Today’s update highlights articles in yesterday’s paper that focused on farmer’s adaptation to weather changes, the use of big data, and the ultrafiltered milk trade dispute with Canada.

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 first quarter of this year. Today’s update provides a brief overview of yesterday’s reports.

Today’s update looks briefly at the U.S. agricultural economy from a variety of perspectives. A recent news report has shown that some Corn Belt producers may be losing money from farming this year, while a survey of agricultural lenders this month demonstrates that many are concerned about commodity prices, liquidity and farm income. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has stated that U.S. farmers won’t be worse off if NAFTA is renegotiated, and adverse weather conditions continue to adversely impact farmers and ranchers in the Nation’s midsection.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released two interesting reports this month that provide timely insights into the U.S. agricultural economy. The first report took a closer look at crop inventories and agricultural finance, while the second update included recent analysis on farm lending. Meanwhile, a front page article in Friday’s Wall Street Journal highlighted issues associated with America’s agricultural export competitiveness in the global market.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its April 2017 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.

Today’s update summarizes recent news items relating to important components of the U.S. farm economy including farmland values, farm income and trade issues with China.

Today’s update looks at a variety of information sources that highlight recent developments relating to the U.S. farm economy, including variables associated with farmland values, agricultural prices, and farm income.

A news release last week from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri indicated that, “The latest analysis of national and global agricultural trends from the University of Missouri indicates continued financial pressure on United States farm sector. Good news in the report includes a modest recovery in grain prices in 2017.”

Last week, the Federal Reserve Board released its February ’17 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.

Last week, USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released a report titled, “Farm Household Income Volatility: An Analysis Using Panel Data From a National Survey.” The report noted that, “There has long been information tracking farm income at the national level, yet little information exists about income variability of individual farm households.” Due to the volatility associated with agricultural production, federal lawmakers have worked to craft policies that minimize farm household income fluctuations. House and Senate Ag Committees in the 115th Congress have already begun the process of continuing this goal as they conduct hearings relating to the next Farm Bill. Today’s update looks at some of the highlights of the ERS report.

Speaking yesterday at USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum in Arlington, Virginia, USDA Chief Economist Robert C. Johansson provided a broad outlook for U.S. agriculture. Today’s update provides an overview of key aspects of Dr. Johansson’s presentation.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its 10-year projections for the food and agriculture sector. The report noted that, “Over the next several years, the agricultural sector continues to adjust to lower prices for most farm commodities. Although reduced energy prices have decreased energy-related agricultural production costs, lower crop prices result in declines in planted acreage. Lower feed costs provide economic incentives for expansion in the livestock sector.” Today’s update highlights aspects of the report that focused on corn and soybeans.

On Monday, February 13th, Patrick Gillespie reported at CNN Money Online that, “Mexico is one of the top buyers of American corn in the world today. And Mexican senator Armando Rios Piter, who leads a congressional committee on foreign relations, says he will introduce a bill this week where Mexico will buy corn from Brazil and Argentina instead of the United States.”