Inflation

Beyond a comprehensive look at farmland values, the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers’ annual report also features other tidbits of interest in each Prairie State region.

Across the country this morning, men and women in every region and every state are rising to grow the food, fiber and renewable fuel Americans depend on.

It is difficult — for some, even impossible — to create a strong financial foundation for the future when most of your money must go toward bills and debt.

The pressure in the ag economy is real — and farmers are feeling it, said Natasha Cox, senior vice president of Farm Credit Mid-America.

With the blustery cold we have seen across most parts of the country in recent days, it’s hard to believe that spring is right around the corner. Springtime brings planting, fresh blossoms and, of course, taxes.

The CattleFax Outlook Seminar, held as part of CattleCon 2025 in San Antonio, shared expert market and weather analysis.

PepsiCo said that high prices and changing consumer tastes have weakened U.S. demand for its snacks and drinks, but it’s confident it can turn that around in the coming year.

I have said it many times: farming is not an easy life’s work and certainly not for the faint of heart. Farming can push you to your physical and emotional limits. It can nearly kill you. It can save your life.

As a farmer and rancher, I’ve learned to count on the seasons. They don’t wait. The crops don’t hold off until it’s convenient, and the livestock don’t adjust their needs to fit my schedule.

The two most important forces shaping the cooperative business model are future farmers and talent management.

Americans who think of petrified hot dogs, frozen burritos and salty snacks when they imagine getting food at a gas station or truck stop may be pleasantly surprised during their next road trip.

The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point in response to the steady decline in the once-high inflation that had angered Americans and helped drive Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.

Shares of General Motors surged almost 10% after the automaker posted a $3 billion third-quarter profit, slightly less than the same period a year ago. It was the stock’s biggest single-day percentage gain in more than four years.

The Biden administration is awarding nearly $3 billion to boost climate-friendly equipment and infrastructure at ports across the country.

Voters chose to send Donald Trump, who served his first term as U.S. president from 2016 to 2020, back to the White House in the Nov. 5 national election.

Shares of Tesla soared as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Every day, rain or shine, farmers rise to do their jobs. Whether we’re tired or stressed, we press on. If we disagree with a family member, we find a way forward. We don’t stall on planting or harvesting or caring for our animals.

Time is running out for Congress to pass a modernized farm bill this year. Families — on and off the farm — cannot afford a delay.

The Fourth of July is a highlight of the year on our family farm. Each summer, my family gets together for a traditional cookout, celebrating our nation with delicious food and the company of loved ones.

The Biden administration’s trade agenda — mostly forgotten after three years of COVID, inflation, war in Ukraine, brutality in the Middle East and a cantankerous Congress — recently surfaced and, wow, is it a mess.

When it comes to the 2024 farm bill, we are at one of those critical points, and if we’re going to reach the finish line, it’s time for Congress to pick up the pace.

From a window atop my grandfather’s old barn, you can see my family’s whole farm, from the hayfields to the chicken houses to the pasture where the mama cows are grazing.

The CattleFax Outlook Seminar, held as part of the 2024 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Orlando, shared expert market and weather analysis.

The No. 1 soybean and corn production area in Brazil has been impacted by drought during the current growing season.

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.

The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer lowered one point in December compared to November — indicating stability in farmers’ perceptions about the ag economy.

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

About 36.4 million tons of food and food products, including corn and soybeans, are shipped annually via Illinois waterways and are dependent upon locks and dams that were built in the 1930s.

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.

There was a modest improvement in farmer sentiment about the ag economy in October as farmers reported improvements in current conditions and future expectations on their farm.

Moderation in input prices, particularly fertilizer prices, is likely to result in lower crop breakeven prices in 2024, according to a recent article by Michael Langemeier at Purdue University.

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.

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.

Those who follow my column know I am quite bullish toward the food and energy markets. They also know that my forecast for those markets to turn bullish has not yet come to fruition.

Even before Congress returned from its five-week, no-work period, Republicans signaled their return will bring no 2023 farm bill and no 2024 federal budget by the two laws’ drop-dead date, Sept. 30.

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.”

Several fundamental events have combined in recent days suggesting that stocks as measured by the Dow Jones could drop 50% to 60% from current levels.

The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer rose two points in July to a reading of 123, indicating a slight increase in farmer sentiment about the ag economy.

There are several interesting theories on the ag and energy markets that have been unfolding the past few weeks.

The clock is ticking for the farm bill as it is set to expire at the end of September. Farmers and ranchers aren’t the only ones with eyes on the clock, either.

The Federal Reserve’s decision to raise its benchmark rate for the 11th time, by a quarter-point, could once again send ripple effects across the economy.

The Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates more than a year ago to fight inflation. In June 2022, inflation was nearly 9%, but has since dropped to 3%.

Hoosiers can expect to pay around 8% more for their summer cookout this year, according to Indiana Farm Bureau’s annual summer cookout survey.

Mexico began imposing a 50% tariff on white corn imports, a move that country’s president says looks to boost national production and prevent imports of genetically modified corn.

Farmers markets gave people something they desperately sought during the pandemic: A place to shop outdoors, and at the same time support smaller, often local businesses.

There is no doubt the grain complex has evolved into a full-blown weather market thanks to above-normal temperatures and below-normal rainfall in the U.S. Grain Belt going into the heart of the growing season.

I love celebrating the Fourth of July with my family every year. There’s nothing like a good, old-fashioned cookout and fellowship with loved ones.

Over the past few weeks, and now that we are into the second quarter of the year, a number of commodity markets have been chopping around with a downward bias, or simply remained bearish.

The past few months, price movement in the grain complex has been simple to explain. It has been one step forward quickly followed by two steps backward, or vice versa.