Falling crop prices and net cash farm income are juxtaposed against falling government farm program payments which will create lively debate when the new Congress starts working on the 2018 Farm Bill.
The 2014 farm bill doesn’t expire until 2018 but deliberations will start in earnest when the new Congress – which is being elected today – convenes in 2017. As has been observed many times in history, farm bills are often written to fix yesterday’s problems. The decision to eliminate direct payments and focus on shallow loss programs that was made as the world came off the commodity boom fits that mold. Net cash farm income in 2013, prior to the passage of the 2014 farm bill, was $135.6 billion but net cash farm inc...
What You Need to Know Today: A third U.S. border crossing (Columbus, New Mexico) has reopened to Mexican cattle imports following nearly two years of restrictions related to New World screwworm. The reopening could gradually improve feeder cattle availability, although more than 60 confi...
Yesterday, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) released a new report of negotiated cash purchases of cattle under the mandatory price report. The report included Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. The goal of the report was to solve the confidentiality issues e...
Key Takeaways: U.S. soybean crushing began in 1911 and saw its most rapid expansion during the 1930s amid the broader agricultural and technology revolutions of the time. After peaking in the early 2000s, the soybean crushing industry went through a downturn as poor crush margins forced...
