Farmland values are proving to be very stubborn given the state of farm commodity prices. Cropland values have increased $50/acre in 2019, up 1.2 percent from last year. Overall farm real estate, consisting of both land and buildings, is $60/acre or 1.9 percent higher at $3,160/acre. The plateau in land values over the past five years also came as the federal funds rate grew from 2015 through 2018 and drove ag mortgage rates up. That could be expected to add further pressure on land prices.
Thus, there apparently are other factors at work. One obvious contributor is crop insurance, which can support land values by maintaining the rate of return on covered acres. A second factor is farm program payments. While the total for 2019 is not ye...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
