January 16, 2009
Extension Update
Extension Update is a weekly summary of news from Extension, government, and other attributable sources, focused on marketing, farm management, and other issues that are of interest to Midwestern farm owners and operators.Posted by Stu Ellis at 12:32 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
January 15, 2009
Fertilizer Prices: Will They Dictate Your 2009 Cropping Plan?
The greatest enigma in agriculture today is not the volatility in grain prices. Most farmers can understand that and have weathered prior storms. But the issue that has everyone scratching their collective head is fertilizer pricing. Wholesale and retail prices went into orbit, and now wholesale prices have returned to Earth, but retail prices are still sky high. Grain can be hedged, but fertilizer can’t. What is a fella to do?Posted by Stu Ellis at 12:58 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
January 14, 2009
Are You On The Right Side Of The New Agricultural Laws In 2008?
Your attorney may be a member of the board of directors of your farming enterprise, and if so, he or she has probably already counseled you on the major developments in agricultural law in 2008. Some of the issues will be quite familiar, since they were headline issues in the farm media. But other issues may sneak up on you when least expected. If your attorney has not alerted you about the legal issues arising in 2008, here are some of the issues you might discuss.Posted by Stu Ellis at 12:22 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
January 13, 2009
Monday's Basketful Of USDA Production And Stocks Reports Caused It To Overflow.
Without the typical fanfare reserved for the August 1 Crop Report, USDA put the wraps on the 2008 crop with some numbers that surprised most of those who weigh in with their own predictions. A handful of reports were released Monday, including the Quarterly Grain Stocks Report, and the Final Production Estimates for the old crop. So how did the numbers change?Posted by Stu Ellis at 12:31 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
January 12, 2009
Will The Brazilian Ethanol Machine Challenge US Renewable Fuels Policies?
The corn market, and to an arguable extent, the soybean and wheat markets, have been a function of the demand for ethanol and the US renewable fuels policy. That policy sets annual targets for ethanol production and keeps in place a subsidy for fuel blenders and a tariff that make foreign produced ethanol more expensive when it enters the US market. Next to the US, the world’s biggest ethanol producer is Brazil, which converts sugarcane to fuel, and runs a substantial amount of its motor vehicle traffic on ethanol. But is Brazilian ethanol a real competitive threat to the Midwestern corn grower?Posted by Stu Ellis at 12:05 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
