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.”
Farm Policy News
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.”
Brazil, U.S., Ukraine, Australia Grain Exports, and China Growth, in Focus
Bloomberg writers Tarso Veloso Ribeiro and Michael Hirtzer reported late last week that, “Global demand for corn will come back to the US in the coming months, according to Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., one of the world’s biggest crop traders.”
FT: “World’s Food Supplies Still Under Threat,” “Multiple Risks Remain,” Notes Bloomberg News
Emiko Terazono reported on Saturday at The Financial Times Online that, “Fertiliser and crop prices have fallen sharply since their peaks after last year’s Russian attack on Ukraine.”
FAS Report Highlights China’s Corn Imports From Brazil; While Rice Prices Climb
The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) indicated in a report this week, “China: Grain and Feed Update,” that, “Post forecasts MY2022/23 corn imports at 18 MMT, the same as USDA’s official estimate.”
DTN: Retail Fertilizer Price Trends, “Considerably Lower,” While Mexico Hopes to Reduce Corn Imports
DTN writer Russ Quinn reported yesterday that, “Most average retail fertilizer prices were lower the third week of January 2023, according to sellers surveyed by DTN.”
Kansas City Fed: Gradual Increase in Farm Lending Persists
In an update last week from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, “Rebound in Farm Lending Continues,” Cortney Cowley and Ty Kreitman indicated that, “Farm lending activity continued to increase gradually alongside further growth in loan sizes.”
USDA, USTR Officials Meet in Mexico on Corn-Import Law; Wheat Dips
Bloomberg writer Eric Martin reported yesterday that, “Mexico’s proposed changes to a planned ban on imports of US corn are insufficient, the Biden administration warned, saying that it continues to consider all of its rights to respond under the free-trade agreement between the nations.”
WSJ: “Worst U.S. Avian Flu Outbreak” Persists, “There is No Historical Context for This”
Dan Frosch reported in today’s Wall Street Journal that, “Nearly a year after it began, the worst avian-influenza outbreak in U.S. history is continuing to decimate poultry flocks across the Midwest and Colorado, frustrating efforts to keep the virus from affecting the nation’s egg prices and supply.”