Latest Issues in American Commodity Farming Stories
New Paper Dispels Myths About Public Health and Commodity Payments WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A white paper released today by Food & Water Watch and the Public Health Institute challenges the common assumption that government subsidies to farmers growing corn, soybeans and other commodity crops is a primary factor in increasing rates of obesity. Acknowledging that the current system of farm subsidies is in need of reform, the paper, Do Farm Subsidies Cause...
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa, Aug. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Professional Farmers of America, a division of Farm Journal Media, today reported its production estimates for the 2011 corn and soybean crops. In a highly varied and difficult crop production year, the Tour saw record attendance at its evening producer meetings--and garnered national and regional media attention, including a substantial article in the Wall Street Journal. Crop Tour field scouts gathered more than 2,300 corn and soybean...
CHICAGO, July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The projection made by agricultural intelligence company Lanworth (Lanworth.com), that last year's U.S. corn and soybean crop production was lower than reported by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), was supported yesterday by the agency's quarterly Grain Stocks report. The USDA lowered corn stocks well below analyst expectations to 4.31 billion bushels, indicating faster than expected disappearance of the 2009 crop. Because corn use to date is...
The impacts of low-external-input cropping systems on energy and yieldConventional agriculture production relies heavily on fossil fuels, particularly in its ability to provide energy at a low cost. However, the uncertain future of fossil fuel availability and prices point to need to explore energy efficiencies in other cropping systems.Most of the U.S. Corn Belt relies on a two-year rotation of corn and soybean with heavy inputs of fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides derived from fossil...
SPEAK OUT - A GROWING PROBLEM Being in the food industry can be uniquely satisfying - it is a pleasure to be in the business of feeding people. But it's also a tough business, with tight margins and heavy competition. From the largest chain supermarkets to the local corner store, every day is a challenge, but it is one that we accept. Yet when government policies are put in place that hurt our businesses, the people we employ and our customers, we have to speak out. And that is exactly what...
By Michelle Koetters BLOOMINGTON - If nothing else, farmers can expect crop prices to continue to fluctuate. The prediction for the price of corn in the next year is $6 a bushel, plus or minus $2, while the price for soybeans could be $13 a bushel, plus or minus $5, said Darrel Good, University of Illinois Extension agriculture marketing specialist. "The truth is we may see both (increases and decreases) before all's said and done," Good told about 120 people Thursday at Soy Capital Ag...
By David Streitfeld After a worrisome start to the growing season that fanned fears of food shortages and huge economic losses, corn, the most important crop in the United States, is now on track for a bountiful harvest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday forecast the second- highest corn yield on record, with production of 12.3 billion bushels, or about 600 million bushels more than it had expected earlier in the summer. "We dodged a bullet," said Bill Nelson, a grains analyst...
By Christopher S Rugaber WASHINGTON - After months of rising food prices, there may be some relief coming with farmers on track to produce the second- largest corn crop and fourth-largest soybean crop in history. In its first estimates this year based on field visits and farmer surveys, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sharply raised its estimate Tuesday of corn production and said "nearly ideal" weather has helped Midwestern farmers recover from June's devastating floods. That recovery...
By Joe Napsha, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Jul. 31--For the past two years, Sewickley Township cattle farmer Regina Carpenter said she and her husband, Derwyn, have absorbed the rising costs of fuel and feed, but they can no longer afford to hold the line this year. "This summer is the first year we were not able to hold back on raising prices. People don't realize how the cost of (diesel) fuel has affected all farmers," said Carpenter, who sells beef from the cattle the couple raise on...
By Jessica Legge, The Times West Virginian, Fairmont Jul. 6--FAIRMONT -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service looks for the country's 2008 net farm income to reach a record level. The USDA forecasted that this year the average farm operator household income would rise 6.3 percent to $89,434. Most specialties are expected to experience an increase in 2008. But in the June 2008 edition of "The Market Bulletin," a publication of the West Virginia Department of...
