While the annual USDA Outlook Conference is ready to tee off tomorrow to discuss the current state and future outlook of the agriculture economy, The Washington Post teed off today on ag policy in an editorial. According to the Post:
Farming no longer resembles the hardscrabble family enterprise of so much mawkish marketing;
Farmers are wealthy, the U.S. food supply is not remotely at risk, and yet the government still piles on the subsidies;
Programs distort markets and shift resources to agriculture that might find more efficient use elsewhere.
In particular, the Post editorial hit direct payments, crop insurance and conservation programs and generally decried the level of subsidies during high crop prices. The pi...
What You Need to Know Today: Cattle futures extended their sharp selloff Friday as weakening cash cattle prices, deteriorating feedlot profitability, and reduced packer demand continued to weigh on the market. The inability of futures to sustain a rally following last week's bullish Cattle on...
As predicted, the Federal Reserve held rates steady at the last meeting before the midterm elections, likely in part because of the election (see WPI 19 October and 22 September). The decision comes at the tail end of a midterm election cycle that has been marked by the two parties campaigning...
Key Takeaways: WPI’s new EU rapeseed crushing margin models point to weaker processing returns over the next four months due to higher rapeseed procurement costs and weaker product values. Statistical forecasts call for German crushing margins to decline from €181/MT to €...
