Net farm income to rebound in 2019 as farmers pare expenses
After hitting a pothole in 2018, U.S. net farm income will recover this year under the combined effects of financial belt-tightening and rising crop prices, said the USDA on Thursday. It projected net farm income of $77.6 billion in 2019, which would be the highest total since the commodity boom collapsed in 2014.
Farmland values up slightly in Midwest, down a bit in Plains
Ag bankers in the Midwest say farmland values were steady overall in 2018 and rose by 1 percent in the final three months of the year, reported the Chicago Federal Reserve on Thursday in its quarterly AgLetter.
In two ways, lawmakers say ‘no’ to relocation of USDA research agencies
Congress is about to send USDA funding for the rest of the fiscal year to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. It will also send him an unambiguous, although nonbinding, message: Don’t move the Economic Research Service or the National Institute of Food and Agriculture out of Washington.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Feed can be a conduit for swine disease (Farm Journal): A Kansas State University study shows that African swine fever, usually fatal to hogs, can be transmitted through the consumption of contaminated feed and liquids, even with extremely low levels of the virus present.
Pork and turkey cost less, eggs a lot more (USDA): During 2018, consumers paid an average of $1.74 for a dozen eggs, up nearly 19 percent from 2017. Meanwhile, turkey prices fell 5 percent and pork prices 1 percent.
Eating a planet-healthy diet is a tough nut (New Food Economy): Following the “planetary health diet” for a week isn’t easy, says one person who tried it. The diet calls for two pounds a day of legumes, nuts, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and one-third of a pound of everything else, meaning meat, dairy, eggs, and fish.
Bigger Conservation Reserve is needed (Field & Stream): Pheasants Forever says that precision agriculture can identify the best land for farming and that marginal land should be devoted to wildlife habitat. Key to the group’s plan is a “Conservation Reserve Program at full strength.”
Senate passes PRIA reauthorization (Senate Agriculture): The Senate unanimously passed and sent to the House legislation to reauthorize the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act, which allows the EPA to collect registration and maintenance fees, through 2023.
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