Logan Garcia, Market Reporter — at Fertecon, S and P Global Commodity Insights, reported last week at DTN that, “January began a reset across the nitrogen complex with anhydrous ammonia, urea and UAN fertilizer prices falling sharply to open 2023, a fall attributed mostly to a lack of demand across all products as well as further reductions in European natural gas prices last month.”
Farm Policy News
Farm Bill Budget, SNAP in Focus at Senate Ag Committee Nutrition Hearing
On Thursday, the Senate Ag Committee held a hearing on USDA nutrition programs in the next Farm Bill.
Farms and Land in Farms, Highlights From a Recent NASS Report
On Friday, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its annual Farms and Land in Farms report.
U.S. Pork and Beef Exports at a Glance, Recent USDA Reports
In its monthly Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook report this week, USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) indicated that, “Although fourth-quarter pork exports had a solid finish—shipments of almost 1.7 billion pounds were about 1.6 percent higher than a year earlier, mostly on the strength of year-over-year larger shipments to Mexico and China—total U.S. exports ended 2022 at 6.3 billion pounds, about 10 percent below volumes in 2021.”
USDA Agricultural Projections to 2032- Focus on Corn, Soybeans
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its 10-year projections for the food and agricultural sector.
Food Prices Increased 0.5% in January, Up 10.1% From Year Ago- Egg Prices Climb 8.5% in January
Wall Street Journal writer Gwynn Guilford reported on the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal that, “Still-elevated inflation cooled slightly at the start of 2023 to 6.4% in January from a year earlier, with energy, housing, food and other items keeping some pressure on prices.”
Mexico Softens Stance on GMO Corn Import Ban
Reuters writers Cassandra Garrison and Adriana Barrera reported this week that, “Mexico on Monday scrapped a deadline to ban genetically modified corn for animal feed and industrial use amid trade tensions with the United States, but retained plans to prohibit use of the grain for human consumption as well as the herbicide glyphosate.”
Fighting in Ukraine Impacting Wheat Prices, March Renewal of Black Sea Grain Deal “Unclear”
Dow Jones writer Yusuf Khan reported yesterday that, “Ukraine remains key this week for grain and oilseed markets, after Russia launched more missile attacks on the country’s infrastructure.”
DTN: Fertilizer Prices “Moved Lower Again” -But– “Remain Above Historical Averages,” WSJ Says
DTN writer Russ Quinn reported last week that, “Average retail fertilizer prices moved lower again the last week of January 2023, continuing a trend that has been present since just before the beginning of the year, according to retailers surveyed by DTN.”
A Closer Look at China’s Pork Production, “A Strategic Imperative”
Writing on the front page of the Business Section in Friday’s New York Times, Daisuke Wakabayashi and Claire Fu reported that, “The first sows arrived in late September at the hulking, 26-story high-rise towering above a rural village in central China.”
Record Year for U.S. Farm Exports in 2022- Soybeans, Corn, Wheat in Focus
A news release Friday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated that, “The American agricultural sector posted its best export year ever in 2022 with international sales of U.S. farm and food products reaching $196 billion, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today.”
Chicago Fed: 2022 Farmland Values Saw Annual Increase of 12 Percent
On Thursday, in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s quarterly AgLetter, David Oppedahl explained that, “In 2022, the District saw a strong annual increase of 12 percent in its farmland values.”
FAS: “Brazil and the United States Vie for World’s Top Corn Exporter”
In its monthly Grain: World Markets and Trade report yesterday, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) indicated that, “Brazil 2022/23 corn exports (Oct-Sep) are forecast to equal those of the United States at 51 million tons on expanding production and strong exports in the second half of its 2021/22 marketing year (Mar 2022-Feb 2023).”
2023 Farm Sector Income Forecast, February
The USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) indicated on Tuesday that, “Farm sector income is forecast to fall in 2023 following two years of strong growth.”
Flow From Black Sea Grain Export Deal Slowed by Russia, ERS- Challenges for the Deal “Remain”
Bloomberg writers Kateryna Choursina and Aine Quinn reported on Monday that, “From his post at the mouth of the Black Sea, Ukrainian ship inspector Ruslan Sakhautdinov has seen his Russian counterparts repeatedly slow the flow of his country’s grain abroad — from scrutinizing fuel gauges to crews’ personal belongings.”
Tension With China, The Largest Market for U.S. Ag Exports
In prepared remarks at a Senate Farm Bill hearing last week, Alexis Taylor, USDA’s Under Secretary of Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, explained that, “With a population of 1.4 billion and a middle class the size of the entire United States, the PRC [People’s Republic of China] is the largest market for U.S. agricultural exports.”
For 10th Consecutive Month, World Food Prices Fall
Reuters writer Crispian Balmer reported today that, “World food prices fell in January for a 10th consecutive month, and are now down some 18% from a record high hit last March following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations food agency said on Friday.”
AMIS: Fertilizer Prices Down More Than 40% Since Last Spring; “Significant Price Declines” Continue, DTN
In its February Market Monitor report, the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) indicated that, “Fertilizer prices have declined by more than 40 percent since hitting record (nominal) highs last spring, especially due to recent drops in natural gas prices and fertilizer plants reopening in Europe.”
FAS Reports Highlight Brazil and Argentina Crop Production and Exports
The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) indicated in a report this week, “Brazil: Grain and Feed Update,” that, “Brazilian agricultural production is expected to continue growing in 2023, maintaining the trend of producing another record-breaking grain harvest.”
Jan. 1 Cattle Inventory Down 3%, Beef Cow Herd Lowest Since 1962; While China Owned North Dakota Corn Mill Draws Focus
Bloomberg writers Michael Hirtzer and Elizabeth Elkin reported yesterday that, “Steaks and hamburgers will likely be more expensive in the next few years with US cattle shrinking to its lowest herd since 2014.”