Reuters writer Stephanie Kelly reported on Monday that, “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday that it agrees with an appeals court’s decision last year that cast doubt on a program that granted oil refiners exemptions to U.S. biofuel blending laws.”
Farm Policy News
The 2021 Outlook for U.S. Agriculture From USDA’s Chief Economist
Speaking on Thursday at USDA’s virtual Agricultural Outlook Forum, USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer provided a broad outlook for U.S. agriculture. Today’s update provides an overview of key aspects of Dr. Meyer’s presentation.
Winter Storms Take Heavy Toll on Agriculture
Wall Street Journal writer Jacob Bunge reported on Thursday that, “Brutal winter weather continued to batter the U.S. agriculture industry, as companies and farmers contended with snow, ice and cold temperatures that disrupted processing, snarled transport and killed livestock across the Midwest and South.”
USDA Agricultural Projections to 2030- Focus on Corn, Soybeans
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its 10-year projections for the food and agricultural sector.
Federal Reserve Ag Credit Surveys- 2020 Fourth Quarter Farm Economy Conditions
Last week, the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, Kansas City and Minneapolis released updates regarding farm income, farmland values and agricultural credit conditions from the fourth quarter of 2020.
Projected U.S. Corn Exports and Prices Rise, But Will “Rampant” Chinese Demand Continue
Financial Times writers Emiko Terazono and Sun Yu reported last week that, “Record purchases by China have sent corn prices soaring since the end of last year, leaving farmers and analysts pondering how long the surge can be sustained.”
House Agriculture Committee Passes Ag Portion of FY21 Budget Reconciliation Bill
DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton reported on Wednesday that, “The $1.9 trillion relief plan moving through the House of Representatives has roughly $16.1 billion in specific provisions for USDA — mainly for nutrition programs — but boosts in agricultural aid steered toward buying commodities or supporting minority or socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.”
2021 Farm Sector Income Forecast, February
The USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) indicated on Friday that, “Net farm income, a broad measure of profits, is forecast to decrease $9.8 billion (8.1 percent) from 2020 to $111.4 billion in 2021.”
FAO Food Price Index Climbs on Strength of Grain Prices, as Chinese Demand Persists
Financial Times writer Emiko Terazono reported last week that, “Global food prices have reached their highest in almost seven years, further raising the spectre of food inflation and hunger at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic continues to hit economies around the world.”
EPA Nominee Michael Regan Draws Bipartisan Support, Says RFS is a Priority
Wall Street Journal writer Timothy Puko reported this week that, “Michael Regan, President Biden’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, drew bipartisan support at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, including from North Carolina Republicans who said he has a history of working constructively with businesses.”
Senate Ag Committee Advances Ag Secretary Nominee Tom Vilsack
On Tuesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a confirmation hearing for Secretary of Agriculture nominee Tom Vilsack.
Kansas City Fed: “Pullback” in New Farm Loans Continues
A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (“Ag Lending Update: Fewer New Loans to Farmers,” by Ty Kreitman and Cortney Cowley) stated that, “Lending activity at commercial banks continued to slow in the fourth quarter, according to the National Survey of Terms of Lending to Farmers. The volume of total non-real estate farm loans declined by about 1% from a year ago, but remained slightly above the 10-year average in the fourth quarter.”
China “On Course” to be World’s Top Corn Importer, as Biden Administration “Reviews” Phase One Deal
Last week, Reuters writers Mark Weinraub and Karl Plume reported that, “China booked its biggest purchase of U.S. corn yet, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday, buying more at once than any country except the Soviet Union 30 years ago, as it tries to meet a surge in demand for animal feed.”
Unrelenting Chinese Demand Boosts Corn Prices
Bloomberg writers Kim Chipman and Nicholas Larkin reported this week that, “Corn prices in Chicago reached a seven-year high with China’s appetite for the grain stoking global supply concerns.”
Corn, Soybean Prices Have Soared, Adding Firmness to Farmland Values
Jesse Newman reported on the front page of Saturday’s Wall Street Journal that, “A crop glut that battered American farmers is subsiding, fueling an unexpected recovery in the U.S. Farm Belt following a yearslong agricultural recession.”
China’s 2020 Phase One Ag Purchases Well Below Target, But Back Up to 2017 Levels
Late last week, Aime Williams and Justin Jacobs reported at The Financial Times Online that, “China has purchased less than three-fifths of the US goods projected under the “phase one” trade deal that paused a tariff dispute between the two countries a year ago, posing another challenge for the administration of Joe Biden in its relations with Beijing.”
Pork Export Variables and China
Earlier this month, in its Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Trade report, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) stated that, “Driven by higher estimates for pork, the China total meat import forecasts for both 2020 and 2021 are revised 4 and 1 percent higher, respectively. While pork import growth slowed in the fourth quarter of 2020, it nevertheless exceeded expectations and results in a more bullish outlook for 2021.”
In Last-Minute Move, Trump Administration Grants Three Refinery RFS Exemptions, But Court Stays EPA Action
Bloomberg writers Kim Chipman and Jennifer A Dlouhy reported on Tuesday that, “The Trump administration granted three oil refineries exemptions from biofuel-blending requirements in a last-minute move, prompting quick rebuke from ethanol and biodiesel producers.”
Chinese Demand Undergirds Robust Soybean, Corn Prices
Reuters writers Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton reported last week that, “China’s soybean imports jumped 13% to an annual record in 2020, customs data showed on Thursday, after crushers ramped up purchases amid improved margins and healthy demand from the country’s rapidly recovering pig sector.”
EPA Seeks Input on E15 Labels and RFS General Waiver
Bloomberg writers Jennifer A Dlouhy and Kim Chipman reported late last week that, “The Trump administration advanced a flurry of biofuel policy proposals Friday, including plans that could help ethanol producers sell more of the corn-based fuel.”