One of North Dakota’s largest farmers filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition recently. Most will blame the collapse on the downturn in commodity prices. While that was certainly a major reason, there are many other contributing factors.One of North Dakota’s largest farmers filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition recently. This is liquidation, not reorganization. The details are still sketchy, but here are some of the key points of the news coverage:
This operation reportedly had planted over 39,000 acres in recent years, including sugar beets and potatoes, and nearly 60,000 acres in 2016. The list of creditors number more than 50 (so far) and includes banks (local and national), financing companies, leasing companies, equipment companies,...
Last week we reviewed an overlooked measure: agricultural productive capital. Using some Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) data, we developed an index of gross capital investment, which showed a major investment surge in agricultural equipment purchases in 2012–2014. Farm investments peak...
Key Takeaways: Sugarcane is the world’s largest crop by total production volume, surpassing major commodities such as corn, wheat, and soybeans, and supplies roughly 80 percent of global sugar production. Sugarcane’s perennial growth cycle allows farmers to harvest multiple crops f...
Easing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, assuming the ceasefire holds, should bring fertilizer prices down, but it could be years before that actually occurs because fertilizer price shocks resulted from not one, but two wars in or near the heart of global fertilizer production. Those wars resu...
