USDA is starting today the sign-up for enrollment of land in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) under the 2018 farm bill. Sign-up will continue through the end of February 2020. This will be the first general sign-up in three years and USDA, according to Secretary Perdue, is “hoping to see one of our largest sign-ups in many years.” The 2018 farm bill increased the acreage cap on the program for the first time since 2008. Currently, there are 22 million acres idled through the program, which is 2 million short of the 24 million acre cap set by the 2014 farm bill. The 2018 farm bill set a cap of 25 million acres for the 2019 sign-up, increasing to 29 million acres in 2023.
However, the net effect potentially could be cons...
What You Need to Know Today: Crude oil prices extended their rally today, supported by several developments, including escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure and growing concerns about supply disruptions. The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to remove 50 perc...
Key Takeaways: The agricultural trade surplus has become a sizable deficit: the balance swung from a $40.1 billion surplus in 2011 to a $40.7 billion deficit in 2025. Imports kept growing while exports lost momentum: between 2020 and 2025, agricultural imports increased 45 percent, compa...
USDA released its October Cattle on Feed report Friday, showing 11.4 million cattle in feedlots with capacity for 1,000 head or more, slightly below last year. September placements were the lowest for the month since records began in 1996, marking the third consecutive month of placements sett...
Total Red Meat & Poultry September 2026 total red meat and poultry stocks totaled 1.97 billion pounds, down 1.4 percent from August despite typically increasing 0.8 percent during the month, and were 1.5 percent below September 2025 levels. The decline pushed total inventories to a new five...
