Less than two years ago, we projected renewable diesel capacity would reach 6 billion gallons in 2025. We now project capacity in 2025 to be 5.1 billion gallons. The list of announced projects is still long and could eventually add substantially to renewable diesel capacity. However, none of these projects have yet broken ground. Until there is confirmation of actual construction activity, we now believe it is prudent to exclude these announced projects in projections.

For 2025, the Risk Management Agency (RMA) has increased the premium support rate for the Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) from 44% of the total premium to 65%. As a result, farmers will pay less for premiums in 2025 and the following years. We evaluate the impact of the increase in ECO’s subsidy rate on farmer-paid premiums and net payments using a historical analysis from 2015 to 2023.

Since the tariff and trade conflicts that began in 2018, through the pandemic relief assistance efforts in 2020, American farmers have received an unusual amount of ad hoc and supplemental…

Pigs per litter has increased at a rate of 0.107 pigs per year since 1994. Another way of stating the same thing, the annual growth rate of pigs per litter in the U.S. was 1.1 percent from 1994 to 2023. Continued improvements in production performance will help ensure the U.S. swine industry remains competitive.

As we approach the end of the year and gather financial facts to document farm financial performance including working capital, it is also a good time to plan for cash flow and liquidity needs for 2025…and beyond. If you don’t already use an accrual income statement and balance sheet to mark that financial performance…..times like these are a good time to start. Be a good steward of your financial resources.

Instead of passing ad hoc economic assistance, this article proposes a new multiyear risk program as a better use of funds and as more likely to fix holes in the crop safety net. These multiyear risk program payments can be made in the Fall of 2024 and Fall of 2025, respectively; or nearly two years and one year earlier than ARC (Agriculture Risk Coverage) and the other commodity program, PLC (Price Loss Coverage), are expected to make sizable payment.