Trends in seed costs are driven by both changes in seed prices and changes in corn plant populations.  This article examines trends in corn plant populations in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana.  In addition, this article examines the proportion of seed…

Cotton is an economically and politically important farm safety net commodity (Coppess).  Following its program is thus important to understanding the forces and issues impacting the US farm safety net (see, for example, the farmdoc daily articles of April 13,…

Livestock feed is a significant use of both corn and soybeans. Forty percent of the domestic corn crop and over 60% of domestic soybean production are used as livestock feed (April 2021 USDA WASDE). Animal agriculture is obviously important to…

Prices on 2021 harvest-time futures contracts are above $6.00 per bushel for corn and $14.00 per bushel for soybeans, well above most prices since 2013. Some farmers express concerns about price declines. We use a farmdoc web-based tool to arrive…

Corn price futures for the July 2021 contract (December 2021 contract) increased from $4.68 per bushel ($4.31 per bushel) in early January to $6.56 ($5.57) for the week ending April 30.  Moreover, using the iFarm Price Distribution Tool there was…

Yesterday, we examined the likelihood that payments from crop insurance policy combinations utilizing SCO and ECO would under-compensate farm-level losses compared to using a higher level RP policy, also referred to as “false-negatives”. Today, we examine the likelihood that policy…

Earlier this week, Bloomberg writers Kim Chipman and Isis Almeida reported that, “A drought in Brazil is changing up trade flows, and sending China on a U.S. grain-buying binge that’s causing global prices to surge.”

Bloomberg writer Breanna T Bradham reported this week that, “Soybean futures touched $16 on Tuesday for the first time since 2012 as concerns mount over a supply crunch.”

Wall Street Journal writers Ryan Dezember and Kirk Maltais reported on Monday that, “America’s biggest cash crop has rarely been more expensive. Corn prices have risen roughly 50% in 2021 and a bushel costs more than twice what it did…

Bloomberg writers Breanna T Bradham, Michael Hirtzer, and Dominic Carey reported on Friday that, “China made one of its biggest purchases of corn in U.S. history, a sign that its buying spree of grain off of world markets isn’t over.”

Bloomberg writers Agnieszka de Sousa and Megan Durisin reported on Thursday that, “Consumers are seeing little letup in surging food prices, as rallies in everything from grains to sugar keep pushing global costs higher.”

Bloomberg writers Breanna T Bradham, Kim Chipman, and Fabiana Batista reported on Tuesday that, “Corn futures surged above $7 a bushel for the first time in more than eight years as lack of rainfall in Brazil added to supply concerns.”