Despite trade and weather woes, low farm income ‘not so unusual’   An array of factors, from foreign competition to slower economic growth at home and abroad, will constrain U.S. farm income in the near term, but one economist says current income levels are “more normal than we like to… Continue reading

Still recovering from recession, rural America has assets for growth   Rural America was hit harder by the Great Recession than metropolitan areas and has not recovered fully, said the Center for American Progress on Monday. Although rural communities face unique challenges, they have assets for growth, the liberal think… Continue reading

Although weaknesses persist, farmers borrow less money   Farmers and ranchers are taking out fewer loans from agricultural banks, and asking for smaller amounts of money when they need cash to pay for equipment, livestock or day-to-day expenses, said the Federal Reserve in its quarterly Agricultural Finance Databook. “Weaknesses in… Continue reading

Trump ‘chose oil companies over family farmers,’ says senator The Trump administration is siding with Big Oil despite announcing a plan to increase ethanol consumption, farm state senators told the No. 2 USDA official on Thursday. “That’s a president that has chosen oil companies over family farmers,” said one of… Continue reading

Tighter SNAP rules could deny free school meals to nearly a million children   The Trump administration said on Wednesday that up to 982,000 children would lose automatic access to free meals at school under its plan to tighten SNAP eligibility rules. Brandon Lipps, deputy agriculture undersecretary, said the impact… Continue reading

Biofuel groups decry EPA backsliding on vow that ’15 billion means 15 billion’   The Trump administration is employing a regulatory version of “bait and switch” to renege on its promise to increase ethanol consumption, said farm and biofuel groups on Tuesday.   Trade war a factor in slower world… Continue reading

Global ethanol use to grow dramatically, says USGC analyst   China, Brazil and the United States will help drive a dramatic increase in global ethanol consumption in the next 10 years, said a U.S. Grains Council analyst on Monday. However, the Sino-U.S. trade war will blunt the opportunity for ethanol… Continue reading

(AP) Although Christopher Columbus was not the first European to reach America (Leif Ericson predates him), the arrival of Columbus in the “New World” (on a quest to open new trade routes) changed everything. Although it wasn’t Columbus’s intended destination, a lasting connection between Europe and the Americas was established;… Continue reading

One-year wonder: U.S. soy stockpile to shrink as quickly as it grew   Aided by the Sino-U.S. trade war, the U.S. soybean inventory doubled to a record 913 million bushels in one year, the government said on Thursday. At the same time, the USDA estimated that total will be cut… Continue reading

Pence tells Iowa, ‘I came … to turn up the heat’ on USMCA   Time is running short for President Trump to win congressional approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement this year, with lawmakers set to work just eight weeks before adjourning in early December. Vice President Mike Pence called… Continue reading