In a special section of the Christmas Day edition of the Omaha World-Herald, Barbara Soderlin reported that, “The outlook may sound bleak for Nebraska’s agriculture-dependent economy as farmers wrap up the third year in a row with falling profits: The decline has economists talking about state budget cuts, rising farm loan defaults and falling land values. Main Street businesses that depend on farm spending say the picture might be dimmer, but they’re not yet turning out the lights.”
Farm Policy News
Biofuels: Trump Picks Stir Unease
Last week, DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton reported that, “Biofuel supporters largely keep pointing to President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign statements on ethanol, but the stack of nominations coming from Trump with far closer ties to oil than ethanol is quickly starting to raise some red flags.
U.S. Contests China Ag Trade Policies at W.T.O.
Recall that back in September, Reuters writers David Lawder and Nathaniel Taplin reported that, “The United States on [September 13th] launched a challenge to China’s price supports for domestic wheat, corn and rice at the World Trade Organization, charging that these far exceed limits that China committed to when it joined the WTO in 2001.”
Iowa Farmland Values Decline, Cash Rent Issues
Donnelle Eller reported on the front page of Wednesday’s Des Moines Register that, “Iowa’s average farmland value declined for the third year in a row, down 5.9 percent to $7,183 an acre over the past year. It’s the first time since the 1980s farm crisis that land values have fallen three straight years, according to an Iowa State University [ISU] report released Tuesday.
Branstad Pick for China: Cautious Optimism From Some in Agricultural Sector
Des Moines Register reporter Jason Noble reported on December 7th that, “Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad will serve as ambassador to China in the administration of President-elect Donald Trump.” The article noted that, “In a statement, Trump praised Branstad’s long experience and close relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.”
Immigration- Food Prices
Caitlin Dewey reported in the Washington Post on December 7th that, “President-elect Donald Trump has promised a major crackdown on illegal immigration, triggering immense alarm among the country’s 11 million undocumented people. But Trump’s deportation promises, if fulfilled, would ripple far beyond the lives of illegal immigrants. Deportations would affect vast swaths of the economy — with a particularly dramatic impact on agriculture.
Recent USDA- ERS Reports, Farm Structure, Rural America
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) has recently released three separate reports that contain a large amount of relevant information that provides interesting perspective on farm structure, and other important variables impacting rural America.
Trump Nominates Scott Pruitt to Head EPA
On December 8th, Washington Post writers Chris Mooney, Brady Dennis and Steven Mufson reported that, “President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday nominated Scott Pruitt, the attorney general of the oil and gas-intensive state of Oklahoma, to head the Environmental Protection Agency, a move signaling an assault on President Obama’s climate change and environmental legacy.”
2018 Farm Bill
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) has noted that, “The Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill) is made up of 12 titles governing a wide range of food- and agriculture-related policy areas. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that the total cost of the new Farm Bill would be $489 billion over 5 years (2014-2018). Nutrition programs account for about 80 percent of this total, with projected outlays for crop insurance, conservation, and commodities representing another 19 percent.”
Trump, Trade and Agriculture
Back in January of 2016, Maggie Haberman reported at The New York Times Online that, “Donald J. Trump said he would favor a 45 percent tariff on Chinese exports to the United States, proposing the idea during a wide-ranging meeting with members of the editorial board of The New York Times.”