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The unknowns facing the agriculture sector are much greater today than in the past few years and possibly decade.

A year-over-year gain of 5% in agricultural land values, the smallest gain in three years, was reported in the third quarter of 2023, according to a survey.

The Federal Reserve left U.S. interest rates unchanged this month, waiting to see if the rapid rate hikes since March 2022 will finally push inflation down to their target of 2%.

An important gauge of inflation was released this week, the Consumer Price Index. It showed August inflation above expectations at 3.7% and a new three-month high.

Compeer Financial’s Fund for Rural America, the Farm Credit cooperative’s giving program, awarded a total of $212,000 through the Agriculture Education and Classroom Equipment Grant program this year.

I imagine some of you have started harvest by now. Not me, though, but that’s normal. Our double-crop beans are getting really thirsty since we’ve only had a third of an inch of rain in over six weeks.

A shortage of food and energy should be coming sooner than later. I fully expect the final quarter of this year and into late 2025 to be a period marked by rising prices for those two basic markets.

The last weekly column I penned in July stated boldly: “We are entering a new era for food and energy prices that will not be solved until 2025, or later.”

After earning record-high milk prices in 2022, dairy farmers have seen their earnings plummet in recent months, with more operations struggling to stay in business and some closing their doors for good.

Farmland values rose slightly year-over-year and from the first to the second quarter of 2023 in the Seventh Federal Reserve District, according to a survey.

A series of Shop Talks are on the calendar with the goal of setting farm policy priorities. Indiana Corn Growers Association and Indiana Soybean Alliance’s Membership and Policy Committee host the Shop Talks.

Developing a farm succession plan is vital because land is not just ground — it’s the legacy farmers are passing to their children.

More than 90 people attended the annual Ag Policy Summit at the Howard County Fairgrounds. Topics at the event included expanding conservation opportunities and the challenging financial landscape for farmers.

Midwest farmland values continued an upward trend, but slowed in the first quarter, according to a survey in the Seventh Federal Reserve District.

Agricultural conditions were reported to be stable to strong across the Corn Belt, according a survey of Federal Reserve districts.