Federal Reserve Bank

Overall economic activity increased slightly since early January, with eight of the 12 Federal Reserve districts reporting slight to modest growth while ag conditions dipped, according to the latest Beige Book.

Farmland values in the Seventh Federal Reserve District are slowing down from double-digit increases of the last couple years to single-digit annual percentage increases.

Agricultural economists provided an economic forecast for 2024 in the Purdue Agricultural Economics Report’s annual outlook.

Agricultural conditions ranged from steady to slightly worse, according to the latest Federal Reserve Beige Book.

On the first business day of the new year, Missouri Treasurer Vivek Malek began accepting applications for about $120 million of state-subsidized, low-interest loans to small businesses, farmers and affordable housing developers.

Productivity is just one of many factors that impact the price of farmland. “The drivers of farmland value are unique to the area,” said Mykel Taylor, associate professor and Alfa Endowed Eminent Scholar at Auburn University.

Although indicators pointed to a recession in 2023, the U.S. economy has grown during this year.

Agricultural conditions improved or deteriorated slightly since the previous Beige Book report in October, depending on the Federal Reserve district.

After a five-year run that featured a costly trade war and an even costlier, deadly pandemic, the biggest players in the global soybean market are positioning themselves for a big, bruising 2023-2024 marketing year.

Farmers looking to trim historically high production costs could face more challenges again next season. The price of oil and natural gas is expected to rise into next year compared to current levels.

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 impact of drought conditions across much of the Corn Belt on crops and water transportation were a common theme in the Federal Reserve’s recent survey.

The October set of U.S. Department of Agriculture reports combined farmer surveys, in-field measurements of the crops yet to be harvested and grain samples of the harvested crops.

A year ago, my column was entitled “Cattle supplies to tighten moving forward.” The day I wrote that column December live cattle futures traded around the $154 level, but a few days ago kissed $192.

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%.