CSD Blogs and Opinions

May 2013 WASDE Breakdown and Perspective

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:56:00 +0000

Breakdown of the USDA numbers...

Grain Market Viewpoint

Tax Tips for Farmers: The Case for NOT Prepaying Expenses

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:57:00 +0000

It’s standard practice for farmers, who are cash basis taxpayers, to accelerate expenses at year-end. Paying fertilizer, seed and chemical bills prior to Dec. 31 can create a paper loss and reduce your current year taxable income to near zero or below. The sister practice is to defer income into the following year by holding a portion of your corn and soybean crop to be sold after Jan. 1.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

What happens if Congress fails to pass the House Ag Committee farm bill

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 21:35:00 +0000

Farmers face the prospect of not having a farm bill in 2012 or ever if Congress fails to seize the opportunity presented during the short business session before it returns to the election.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

World Food Prize Selection Shows Importance of Water to World's Food Supply

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:37:00 +0000

World Food Prize Daniel Hillel's selection reminds us of how important irrigation is to the world's food supply.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

Soybean Market Needs More Acres

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:01:00 +0000

Tightening world soybean supplies and lower-than-expected U.S. planting intentions have the soybean market working hard to buy more acreage and ration old-crop supplies. It may now take evidence of larger plantings or a significant slowdown in demand to put another major top in the market.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

The Curse of Wealth

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:47:00 +0000

The “curse of wealth” is attention getting; however, it describes an issue that is starting to impact agriculture, particularly in the islands of prosperity fueled by the nine-year super cycle that has been building tremendous appreciation of assets and retained profits on farm balance sheets.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

Early Start to Spring, Fieldwork

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:43:00 +0000

During March, several all-time record temperatures have been set in Minnesota and Iowa. At the University of Minnesota Research and Outreach Center at Waseca, the 2012 high temperature hit 79° F four straight days from March 17 to 20, and set seven record March high temperatures March 21. By comparison, the highest March temperature at Waseca in 2011 was 49°, 60° prior to March 30 in 2010, and 64° in 2009. The average 2012 March temperature through March 21 at Waseca was 44.5°, compared to a normal average March temperature of 30.3°, and a 2011 average March temperature of 26.9°.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

Returning to the Family Farm

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:40:00 +0000

I received an e-mail from a son who is contemplating the decision to return to the family farm. In this case, the son had graduated from a university with a degree in agribusiness. He is bright and has completed two successful internships with a cooperative and a business outside of agriculture.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

Future of the Conservation Reserve Program

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:37:00 +0000

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is likely to be a key focal point during the development of the next farm bill in the coming months. In an era when Congress and the administration are looking to reduce the Federal budget deficit, there will be pressure to reduce the current annual expenditure of just under $2.0 billion on CRP, including about $1.7 billion in annual rental payments. Most experts expect the size of CRP to be reduced from the current maximum level of 32 million acres to around a maximum of 25 million acres in the next farm bill.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

Soybean Market Vulnerable

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:31:00 +0000

Uncertainty about South American supplies and strong Chinese demand have continued to drive soybean prices up, despite fast harvest progress in Brazil and the start of Argentina’s harvest. Estimates of production are still falling as a result of crop problems in southern Brazil. Brazilian analyst AgroConsult cited worse-than-expected yields in Rio Grande do Sul last week when it lowered its estimate of Brazil’s soybean crop by 3 million metric tons (mmt) to 67.1 mmt.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

2012 Economy: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:16:00 +0000

Recently I was in Spokane, WA, for Northwest Farm Credit Services’ AgVision and Executive Producers Summit lifelong learning conferences for farmers and ranchers. This year’s groups were eager to learn about the economy and business management practices to position their businesses to weather economic storms or capitalize on opportunities. I shared the program with Ed Seifried, Professor Emeritus from Lafayette College, Easton, PA. The program was full of his nuggets, perspectives and wisdom.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

CRP Signup from March 12 to April 6

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:08:00 +0000

USDA has announced a general Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) signup from March 12 through April 6, 2012, at county Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices throughout the Country. There are approximately 6.5 million acres of CRP land with expiring contracts on Sept. 30, 2012. General CRP sign-ups were also held in 2011, when 3.75 million acres were accepted into CRP, and in 2010, when about 4.2 million acres were accepted into CRP. In 2011, the CRP celebrated its 25th anniversary, and over two and a half decades of conservation success. CRP was originally established in the 1985 Farm Bill.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

USDA March 2012 Report Highlights

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:05:00 +0000

USDA left U.S. ending stocks of 2011 corn and soybeans unchanged at 801 million and 275 million bushels respectively – a bearish move given the trade had expected corn stocks to be reduced to 776.5 million bushels and soybeans to drop to 254 million. Corn’s balance sheet was untouched, while soybeans had inconsequential tweaks in the seed and residual categories.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

TEPAP 2012 Management Practices

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:54:00 +0000

In the last article, a profile of financial performance was presented for the Executive Program for Agricultural Producers (TEPAP) at Barton Creek Resort in Austin, TX. Dick Wittman, a well-recognized agricultural businesses consultant, surveyed group concerning business practices. These survey results can be useful as peer comparisons, showing which business practices some of the more elite producers are using.

CSD Blogs and Opinions

National Ag Week 2012

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:48:00 +0000

National Ag Week is being celebrated March 4-10 all across the U.S., and Thursday, March 8, has been designated as National Ag Day. It is a good time to reflect on all the traditions and advancements that help make the U.S. agriculture industry second to none! Following are some interesting statistics about today’s agriculture industry.