McLean County Farm Bureau

FarmDoc Daily

• Extending the Cattle Cycle with Still Lower Inventories
  The USDA’s cattle inventory report places the total number of cattle and calves on January 1 at 86.7 million head, as the industry continues into a 7th consecutive year of contraction within the cattle cycle. The report indicates smaller beef cow and beef replacement heifer inventories and a smaller calf crop than anticipated. The report […]
• Double Trouble Part 1: Producers Request Larger Loan Levels with Rising Interest Rates
  Over the past seven years, the interest expense faced by producers receiving a new USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm loan has increased 50 to 62 percent and the total first-year payment has increased 72 to 89 percent. This is due to both increases in interest rates and loan amounts. Increases in the average size […]
• Off-Base, Part 3: Picking Winners & Losers with Policy
  Policy should not pick winners and losers. That well-worn phrase in DC circles is proclaimed more often than followed. As explored in this article, the most recent projections for crop costs, revenues and payments highlight the potential that extraordinarily large payments on southern base acres of peanuts, rice, and seed cotton will make the difference […]