Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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Monday, March 18th, 2024 Video and Audio Program

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Wheat and cattle had a solid day to the upside while soybeans pushed lower and corn was caught in the middle. We discuss a fairly quiet day in the markets with John Heinberg from Total Farm Marketing. Learn more online at https://www.totalfarmmarketing.com.

Spring fever has largely taken hold of much of the country BUT we could see a big shift back to winter later this week? We discuss snow in the forecast and more with Eric Snodgrass from Nutrien Ag Solutions. Learn more online at https://www.ag-wx.com.

AUDIO ONLY SHOW LINKS:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/market-talk/id1533318516?i=1000649622097

Bill Solidifies Critical Fertilizer Minerals

The Fertilizer Institute thanks the U.S. Senate for introducing bipartisan legislation to include phosphate and potash on the final list of critical minerals of the Department of the Interior. TFI says the legislation will recognize the importance of ensuring a strong and sustainable domestic fertilizer supply for American farmers.

“The majority of the world’s phosphate and potash resources are concentrated in only a few countries, leaving them open to supply chain vulnerabilities and geopolitical instability,” says TFI President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch. “The events of the last few years have shown us that food security is national security, and now is the time to change how we talk about these vital resources.”

The U.S. imports about 95 percent of its potash needs, the bulk of which comes from Canada. Only 14 countries in the world produce potash. “This will help us take significant strides toward securing our food supply,” he adds.

Justice Department, FTC Statements on Right to Repair

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission submitted comments to the U.S. Copyright Office advocating for regulations that would facilitate the right to repair. The agencies are in favor of consumers and businesses getting to repair their own equipment.

The Copyright Office is considering whether to recommend that the Library of Congress renew and expand temporary exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s prohibition against the circumvention of technology protection measures that control access to copyrighted content. In their comments, the agencies said that renewing and expanding repair-related exemptions would promote competition in markets for replacement parts, repair and maintenance services, and facilitate competition in markets for repairable products.

“Promoting competition in repair markets benefits consumers and businesses by making it easier and cheaper to fix the things they own,” the comments say. “Expanding repair exemptions can also remove barriers limiting independent service providers from doing their work.”

USDA Issues March Livestock Outlook

In 2024, U.S. beef exports are expected to be about 83 percent lower than those in 2023. The drop is due to lower beef production this year brought on by tightening cattle supplies and tougher global competition from beef exporting countries like Australia.

Pork exports are forecast to increase by almost 4.6 percent from 2023 due to higher domestic production and less global competition from the European Union. Broiler exports this year are expected to decline about 1.4 percent compared to last year due to higher domestic prices and weak demand from China. Turkey is expected to be competitively priced in 2024, with exports forecast to be up 6.4 percent compared to last year.

Compared with 2023, dairy exports on a skim-solids milk-equivalent basis should increase slightly this year by 0.2 percent. Relatively strong domestic demand for dairy products and limited growth in milk production will likely limit export growth.

U.S. Wheat Farms Dropped 40 Percent in 20 Years

The Economic Research Service says the number of U.S. wheat farms has dropped substantially over time. Since 2002, the total number of wheat farms fell by over 40 percent, from 169,528 in 2002 to 97,014 in 2022.

In addition to the decline in wheat farms, wheat production is down slightly but has been variable year to year. The ERS says annual wheat production ranged from about 1.6 billion bushels in marketing year 2002-2003 to as much as 2.5 billion bushels in 2008-2009. However, wheat production didn’t exceed two billion bushels from 2017 through 2023. The ERS says the reduction in the number of farms reporting wheat harvested area occurred across all wheat classes.

The number of farms producing durum wheat saw the largest percentage drop, down nearly 60 percent from the 2002 Census and 30 percent from the 2017 Census. Only five states saw increases in the number of wheat farms.

USDA Invests in Organic Promotion

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service awarded about $40.5 million for 60 grant projects through the Organic Market Development Grant Program. These projects will support the development of new and existing organic markets, support the infrastructure to improve processing capacity, explore emerging technologies to promote organic products, and purchase equipment to help meet the increasing demand for organic commodities.

USDA anticipates the projects funded through this program will benefit more than 27,000 producers and over 31.8 million consumers by increasing organic market opportunities. “Farmers who choose to grow organic often access new, more, and better markets,” says USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small. “At USDA, we are committed to making it easier for farmers who make that choice through programs like the Organic Market Development Grant Program, which supports farmers and increases access to fresh, healthy foods.”

This round of awards will address critical needs within the nation’s growing organic industry.

Lamb Lovers Month a Success

February was Lamb Lovers month. The 2024 ad campaign called “Show Us Your Chops” reached over 125,000 culinary enthusiasts across three targeted demographics. The campaign helped drive more than 10,000 unique visitors to the American Lamb Board’s consumer website. Once on the site, visitors learned more about American Lamb, had access to recipes, and had the option to enter a campaign contest to win a Dutch oven and two racks of American Lamb.

“This campaign proved to be a cost-effective advertising campaign for reaching culinary enthusiasts and provided some key insights into various demographics targeted by the campaign,” says ALB chairman Jeff Ebert. The campaign ran ads on Facebook and Instagram targeting consumers interested in dining and cooking. The audience was then subdivided into three categories by age and stage of life.

They include “Culinary Curious” at 28-34 years old, “Culinary Hustlers” at 35-44 years old, and “Culinary Connoisseurs” at 48-67.

Friday, March 15th, 2024 Video and Audio Program

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On today’s Market Talk, we sit down for a wide ranging conversation with economist David Widmar from Agricultural Economic Insights. David and Jesse Allen discuss the current market sentiment in grain and livestock trade, the economy/inflation, the focus on Chinese demand, crop insurance levels and more as we enter spring planting season. You can find more info and learn more at https://www.aei.ag.

AUDIO ONLY SHOW LINKS:

Letting Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Expire Would Hurt Family Farms

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a comprehensive tax cut package enacted in 2017. Dustin Sherer, director of government affairs for the American Farm Bureau, says it’s important legislation for farmers and ranchers.

He says, “It lowered taxes for most individuals as well as most businesses of every size and type, including farms and ranches. The legislation is important for farmers and ranchers because 98 percent of their operations are organized as pass-throughs, and there were specific provisions included in the bill that benefit pass-through businesses, including the broader brackets and lower rates, the enhanced estate tax exemption, and the 199A qualified business income deduction that drives more rate parity between the top rates that small businesses pay and the 21 percent corporate rate.”

A new Economic Research Service report shows that if the provisions expire, tax bills will increase for farmers and ranchers.

Sherer says, “If nothing is done to extend them beyond 2025, farmers will face well over a nine-billion-dollar tax increase in 2026 between increased income tax liability and the increased estate tax liability. According to that report, the expiration of 199A alone would see certain farms’ tax liability increased by up to 20 percent.”

Sherer says knowledge about your own personal tax liabilities is key when advocating for reauthorization of these provisions. He says, “Arm yourself with information. Do some research or talk to your CPA to understand how these various provisions of the tax code are benefiting your operation and how your operation is utilizing the savings from the provisions enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. And once you do that, talk to your elected officials. Tell them your personal story and tell them what the consequences would be if these options went away. Educating elected officials with personal stories is the best advocacy there is.”

Vilsack Sees No Farm Bill Until More Funding Flexibility

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack says there won’t be a new farm bill until there’s “flexibility” in ways to fund one and the political will to do it. Vilsack told the National Farmers Union recently that lawmakers need to look outside the farm bill for farm safety net funds to avoid hurting popular conservation and nutrition programs.

He says, “It becomes a bit difficult to see the pathway to a farm bill unless folks say, how do we use all of the tools—not just the farm bill—how do we use all of the tools.”

Those tools include the politically controversial Commodity Credit Corporation or CCC. Vilsack says, “The CCC is a resource that’s available, and every year, virtually every year, there’s money left over in that CCC fund.”

But some in the GOP charge Vilsack and even the Trump Administration used CCC as a ‘slush fund’ for pet projects. Still, Vilsack says the fund, Inflation Reduction Act conservation dollars, current SNAP and WIC funding, in concert with a farm bill may be the only answer.

Vilsack says, “I think the attitude is that until we see that kind of flexibility, it’s going to be difficult, and there’s going to be a standstill, and then, some people think, well, an extension of the existing farm bill is better than a bad bill.”

Politico quoted Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow as saying that at a recent White House event, but Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says Stabenow told him her comments were taken out of context. Stabenow’s quote on limiting anti-hunger programs in a new farm bill: “I’m not going to do it, so if that means we continue the policies of the 2018 farm bill, then that’s ok.”

Article courtesy of the NAFB News Service and Matt Kaye, Berns Bureau Washington