Author: staff

From Economic Theory to Grocery Store Reality, a Warning About America’s Food Supply I. Econ 101 and the Scalloped Potatoes Back in high school economics — or maybe in a foggy Econ 101 lecture hall — you probably heard about Adam Smith and his “invisible hand.” The idea was that markets, left largely to themselves, would balance out. Prices go up, people buy less. Supply drops, prices rise. Somewhere between producers chasing profit and consumers seeking value, equilibrium is found. Right alongside that came the concept of elasticity. Not the kind in your waistband, but the economic kind: how sensitive…

Shortly after 8:30 a.m. CT, July corn was up 4¢ at $4.59½ per bushel. July soybeans were up 7¾¢ at $10.49 per bushel. July wheat contracts were mixed. CBOT wheat was up less than a penny at $5.36¼ per bushel. KC wheat was down 4½¢ at $5.33½. Minneapolis wheat was down 2½¢ at $6.08. “Corn and soybean futures rose in early trade amid hopes for an easing in the U.S.-China trade war following a Tuesday evening announcement that top U.S. and Chinese officials will meet Saturday in Geneva for initial trade talks,” said The Brock Report this morning, speaking of…

From Temple, Texas, Emma Coffman has been selected by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, as the 2024 Advocate of the Year. The award recognizes Coffman for her creative use of storytelling across social media platforms, along with breaking down barriers as a first-generation cattle rancher. After earning her bachelor’s degree in animal science from Texas A&M University, Coffman pursued diverse opportunities in agriculture, including cattle ranching in Australia, before returning to Texas to begin her professional career. With both classroom knowledge and real-world experience, Coffman has a lot of knowledge to share on her…

A central Iowa farm sale attracted 64 bidders and seven winning buyers, with competitive bidding from investors and farmers driving up the price per tract. The 530.96-acre farm in Greene County, west of Churdan, was divided into eight tracts and sold for an average of $10,750 per acre, totaling about $5.7 million.  Matt Adams with Peoples Co. was in charge of the April 3 auction and says the price didn’t come as a surprise as the land was valued between $5.2-6 million. What did surprise him was the number of individual buyers who bid on the property. “Normally we have…

By Michael Langemeier Recent consumer and producer surveys indicate that individuals are expecting inflation in the next year to be higher than it was in 2024. Though not perfectly correlated, input prices for agricultural producers can be affected by changes in general inflation. During the 1973–2024 period, the average annual increase for the implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures and the USDA agricultural price index for production items were 3.4% and 3.8%, respectively. The correlation between the annual rates for these two indices was 0.61 over this period. Some individuals may wonder why these two indices are not more closely linked. The reason is…

By Cami Koons Despite another week of rainy conditions, which left an average of just over three days suitable for field work, Iowa farmers have more corn and soybeans in the ground than this time last year.  Corn planted in the state reached 49%, which is three days ahead of 2024 planting but two days behind the average.  Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the drier and warmer conditions expected in the coming week will likely lead to “significant planting progress” across the state.  “Farmers in some parts of the state have been dealing with wet field conditions after…

Crossing beef cattle with dairy cattle is nothing new, but in recent years, industry professionals have been working to help dairy farmers select beef genetics that produce profitable “beef-on-dairy” cattle. “When the dairy industry first started doing beef-on-dairy, it was just, ‘Give me a black bull,’” said David Erf, a U.S. dairy technical service geneticist with Zoetis. “There was no concern about the quality of the beef carcass. The attitude was, ‘Anything is going to be better than a purebred Holstein bull.’” In recent years, crossbreeding beef sires with dairy cows has gained popularity as an extra value-added income for…

DAILY Bites U.S. farmer sentiment rose in April, with the Ag Economy Barometer increasing to 148, driven by greater optimism about both current conditions and future expectations. The Farm Capital Investment Index reached its highest point since May 2021, reflecting a post-election shift toward more willingness to invest—though caution remains among a majority of producers. Despite near-term concerns over tariffs and input availability, 70% of farmers surveyed believe increased tariff use will benefit U.S. agriculture in the long run. DAILY Discussion Farmer sentiment improved in April as producers expressed more optimism about current and future conditions on their farms. The…

The April World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report showed corn carryout decreasing by 75 million bushels, soybean ending stocks decreasing by 5 million bushels, and wheat ending stocks increasing by 27 million bushels. Next week’s report will give the market its first glimpse of 2025/2026 production and demand estimates. Ahead of the new report, here is what farmers need to know about the corn, soybean, and wheat markets, and what Grain Market Insider will be looking for in the updated balance sheets. Corn Market Expectations In last month’s WASDE report, U.S. corn carryout was lowered from 1.54 billion…

“This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.” In parts of California’s Central Valley, so much groundwater has been pumped out of the ground to deal with the region’s persistent drought that the land is starting to sink in. Underground aquifers — layers of sand, gravel, clay, and water — are vital resources that communities can turn to when surface water is scarce. But when more water is pumped out of aquifers than is put back in — as is happening in the southern part of the valley — it can cause the ground to slowly…