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Cropland rental rates continue to vary widely throughout Minnesota. Landowners and tenants alike are challenged when trying to calculate a fair and equitable land rent value. The North Central Farm Management Extension Committee has recently developed a series of land rent publications and forms that will aid landowners and tenants with determining a land rent value....More

China’s continued influence on agricultural commodity demand and global economic growth, along with increasing weather extremes, stand out as key issues for North American food, beverage and agribusiness in 2013, a recent poll of Rabobank clients shows. The poll of over 350 executives from leading companies in the North American food, beverage and agribusiness industry was conducted at Rabobank’s recent Markets Forum held in New York City. Rabobank is a leading bank to the global food and agribusiness industry and premier financial institution to the North American food, beverage and agriculture sector....More

In agriculture we rely on trust – farming practices we trust, suppliers we trust, and the list goes on. Often the trust we count on comes from familiarity or even just habit. One challenge with relying on trust that only comes from familiarity is that we can hold back from building new trusting relationships that could help us solve problems faced by a rapidly changing business....More

In the wake of a series of regional drought conferences with farmers, ranchers, business owners and other stakeholders, USDA is entering into a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Commerce, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to improve sharing of data and expertise, monitoring networks and drought forecasting efforts. The MOU is a direct outcome of the regional conferences....More

Argentina and Brazil now supply export markets that traditionally bought American. The U.S. is no longer the dominant corn supplier for countries like Colombia, Taiwan and the Dominican Republic. Millions of untapped arable acres and low production costs make Brazil a formidable competitor. But the story is different in Argentina, where most cropland is already under cultivation and corn competes with wheat and soybeans for acres....More

The sharp increase in soybean prices that began in June and peaked in early September was carried more by soybean meal prices than by soybean oil prices, according to University of Illinois Agricultural Economist Darrel Good. From the June low to the September peak, January 2013 soybean futures increased by 43%, January soybean meal futures increased by 51% and January soybean oil futures gained 20%....More