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World Market Conditions Suggest Set-Asides Not an Effective Farm Policy for Corn and Soybeans
As set-asides are discussed as a farm policy alternative, the changing global nature of agricultural production needs to be considered. As world production of corn and soybeans has increased significantly in the past 30 years, the U.S. has lost production…
Understanding the WAOB Crop Weather Model for Soybeans
One of the key early assessments of the U.S. average soybean yield is the projection made by the USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB). Since 1993, those projections have been used in the May, June, and July WASDE reports to…
Soybeans and PLC: Example of the Need for Better Equity among Program Crops
This article examines the reference price for soybeans. It is sparked in part by soybeans being only one of only 5 covered commodities that received no payment from the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program under the 2014 Farm Bill. The…
Prevented Plant Impacts on 2019 Illinois Grain Farms Incomes
In 2019, many farmers in Illinois had prevented plant (PP) acres, acres that couldn’t be planted due to excessive moisture throughout the planting season. Previous analyses indicated that taking PP was an economically better alternative than planting. Even given its…
USDA Surprises Drive Corn Prices Higher
The Acreage and Grain Stocks reports, released on June 30, produced some surprises for the corn market. The drop in acreage spurred a rally in corn prices and injected some optimism into the corn outlook moving into the 2020 marketing…
Comparison of a Conventional Crop Rotation with an Organic Forage-Based Crop Rotation
Due to continued increases in demand for certified organic grains, crop farmers that have transitioned from conventional to certified organic grains report higher net returns per acre (McBride et al., 2015; Greene et al., 2017; Greene and Vilorio, 2018; Center…
Latest Farm Policy News Articles
Phase-Two Deal With China Unlikely, As U.S. Corn Exports Continue
Josh Zumbrun and Catherine Lucey reported on the front page of Saturday’s Wall Street Journal that, “President Trump damped expectations for a promised phase-two trade pact with China on Friday, saying the relationship between the countries has been too badly…
Amid Weaker Economic Conditions, Reports Suggest Farmland Values Holding Steady
Last week, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released its Agricultural Survey. In part, the quarterly report stated that, “Bankers responding to the second-quarter survey reported overall weaker conditions across most regions of the Eleventh District.”
U.S. Corn and Cotton to China, But Buying Pace Needs a Big Boost to Meet Phase One Pledges
Bloomberg writers Michael Hirtzer and Dominic Carey reported last week that, “While U.S. shippers sent sizable orders of wheat, corn, cotton, pork and other agriculture goods to China in May, China would need to pick up the buying pace further…
China Expands Suspension of Meat Imports from Brazil
The suspension of meat imports by China so far affects five large Brazilian plants. On Saturday, the Asian country removed pig companies BRF in Lajeado and JBS in Três Passos, both cities in Rio Grande do Sul state, from the…
Ethanol: Issues Over EPA SRE (Small-Refinery Exemption) Requests Persist
Rachel Frazin reported recently at The Hill Online that, “The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will not take up Douglas Benevento’s nomination for the No. 2 position at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) announced her opposition.”
China Imports Still Not on Pace to Meet Phase One Targets
On Monday, Bloomberg News reported that, “China’s purchases of U.S. goods increased last month as the economy continued its recovery from the coronavirus shutdowns, but imports are still far behind the pace needed to meet the terms of the ‘phase…
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