Moneywise - Archive

• Resources to Get You through Harvest
  An incredibly slow harvest, excessive moisture, high potential for diseases and other crop quality issues have created many obstacles for your corn’s path from field to bin or elevator. To help overcome these difficulties, here are six of the best harvest information sources. (11/5/2009)
• Don’t Bring Your Grain Here
  Over the past three weeks, a growing number of elevators have been forced to turn away high-moisture loads. (11/5/2009)
• Test Your Grain in the Field
  Late planting combined with a number of other weather trials this summer resulted in some quality issues such as cob rot, agronomists report. (11/5/2009)
• Elevators Win, Farmers Lose on Dock
  Millions of dollars will disappear out of farmers’ pockets into those of elevators this fall. (11/5/2009)
• Rates Pressured Higher Right Now
  There’s little prospect for higher interest rates in the next few years, says Vince Malanga of LaSalle Economics. (10/21/2009)
• Dollar Weakness Supporting Commodities
  Weakness in the dollar is likely causing new speculative money to move into commodities, leading to price improvement, says Ann Duignan of JP Morgan. (10/21/2009)
• Contract Feeders: Consider Realities Before Legal Action
  The pork industry is going through a massive transition and it’s leaving a lot of integrators questioning their business models and the contracts they have made with their feeders. (10/21/2009)
• Market Guru Still Favors Commodities
  On CNBC, Oct. 1, investor Jim Rogers (see “Why Investors are Hot on Commodities,” Top Producer, September 2006) told the world he still sees commodities as the place to invest. (10/8/2009)
• Challenges Young Farmers are Facing
  What are the top concerns of young farmers today? On the Top Producer Young Farmer Network, we asked just this question. Read the top concerns. (10/8/2009)
• Deferring Crop Insurance Income
  Under Treasury Regulation 1.451-6(a)(2), crop producers who typically don’t sell—and claim income—from their crops until the year after production typically can also wait to declare crop insurance indemnity payments. (10/8/2009)
• Corn Loses its Luster
  Corn is like the Tiger Woods of field crops. When Tiger misses a tournament cut, he’s still the story. Meanwhile, soybeans and cotton are in Sunday’s final group and the gallery is missing. (10/8/2009)
• Cost of Production to Rise 9% in 2010
  In its estimates of operating costs, USDA’s Economic Research Service pegs variable cost of production for both corn and soybeans up 9% next year and cotton, 8%. (10/8/2009)
• Register Now for the Marketing Rally
  Registration has officially opened for the event. (10/8/2009)
• Media Watch: The Omnivore’s Delusion: Against the Agri-intellectuals
  Farming has always been messy and painful, and bloody and dirty. It still is. (10/8/2009)
• Attention Young Farmers: Join a Network Just for You
  The Top Producer editors are excited to offer you a new networking tool, http://tpyoungfarmers.ning.com, to connect with fellow young farmers across the country. (9/24/2009)
• Global Farmland Values Robust
  Farmland values will stay robust during the global recession, according to a report by Savills. (9/24/2009)
• Virtual Farming
  A friend of mine has found a new way to profit. Her dog is listed as a farm owner so she can farm more ground. No, this is not a new loophole for the farm program. It’s farming in the Internet age, and boy is it easy. (9/24/2009)
• Don't Delay! Win a Trip to Agritechnica
  You could win a free trip for two. (9/24/2009)
• Four Steps to Expansion
  Growth opportunities exist if you’re ready (9/24/2009)
• Top Producer Seminar: Win in the New Economy
  The 2010 Top Producer Seminar will be held Jan. 27-29, 2010 at the Hotel Intercontinental in Chicago, Ill. You don’t want to miss it. Read the highlights. (9/24/2009)
• Choose Your Battles
  Farming has always been a gamble. (9/9/2009)
• Short-Term Weather Protection
  Top Producer has reported exchange-traded “Weather Contracts” when they were first announced. This year’s delayed planting and immature crops give them new attraction. (8/27/2009)
• Frost Protection
  Buy call options now if you want to have protection in case of an early frost, recommends Jim Bower of Bower Trading. (8/27/2009)
• Land Use Change Tricky to Measure
  A leading agricultural economist says it is nearly impossible to verify the reasons for why farmers around the world change their land use, much less to blame it on biofuels production in the U.S. (8/27/2009)
• On-Farm Leadership Critical to Success
  Lack of leadership may be the single biggest void in today’s agricultural operations, says Kevin Spafford, Farm Journal columnist and founder of Legacy by Design, a farm succession planning firm. (8/27/2009)
• Interest Rates Will Never Be Lower
  Interest has nowhere to go but up. But how high, and how will that impact your operating loans? (8/27/2009)
• Land Market: Which Way?
  The land market is more fraught with uncertainty than any other time in the past two decades, according to Charles Gilliland, a research economist at Texas A&M. (8/27/2009)
• 6 Steps to a Plan
  Think through your sales strategy then adjust as needed (8/13/2009)
• Threat to Livestock in Buckeye State
  The Human Society of the United States (HSUS) is threatening to support legislation in Ohio that bans the use of modern production practices for livestock and egg producers. (8/13/2009)
• Silver Lining for Farmers
  Basis has improved through much of the Corn Belt, reports Kevin McNew, president of CashGrainBids.com. (8/13/2009)
• One Day With Ken Ferrie
  Don''t miss out on the experience 400 other farmers took advantage of earlier this summer. (8/13/2009)
• Become the 2010 Top Producer of the Year
  The Top Producer of the Year Award recognizes producers who demonstrate excellence in the business of farm­ing, including marketing, farm finance, family and employee relations, technology and environmental stewardship. (8/13/2009)
• Don’t Miss This Marketing Event
  Plan to attend the Marketing Rally, an upcoming historic event! Ag’s top commodity market analysts are coming together for the first time—to present a melting pot of information never available in one spot. (8/13/2009)
• Don't Ignore ACRE
  You can’t be sure whether it will pay you more to go with the new Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) or stick with the traditional farm programs, says Carl Zulauf, Ohio State University Extension economist. (8/13/2009)
• Harvest-Time Basis Prospects Look Promising
  Basis for grain shipments could be considerably less costly this fall. (7/23/2009)
• Keeping Your Farming Employees Pays
  Drive down employee turnover rates (7/23/2009)
• Banking Pendulum Swings Conservative
  Farmers are no strangers to cycles—production and prices of everything you produce swing from too much to too little and back, almost yearly. (7/23/2009)
• Farmer Confidence Slips
  Last September, a Top Producer survey found that readers’ attitudes toward the general farm economy had slipped from 54% positive last spring to 39% in September. (7/23/2009)
• Why Investors Are Eyeing Ag
  “We are headed for a recession that will last a decade,” declares Peter Schiff, president and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital. (7/23/2009)
• Fantasy Grain Trading on GrainClass.com
  Program uses real-life modeled games for farmers to practice trading (7/22/2009)
• Will CFTC Change Ag Futures?
  The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is holding trading limit hearings to determine needed changes in reporting and classification of traders, especially in the energy markets, but agriculture “and other physically delivered commodities” also “deserve thoughtful review. (7/9/2009)
• Farmer Development Opportunity
  Farmers have the chance to sharpen their business skills, learn about new technologies and network with other farmers, ag leaders and experts at Purdue University’s annual Top Farmer Crop Workshop. (7/9/2009)
• East–West Crop Divide
  Iowa’s soybean yields may be above trend and the average of the past three years, while those in the Eastern Corn Belt are more likely to fall below. (7/9/2009)
• Early Entry Deadline for Corn Yield Contest: July 10
  If you think your corn yields could be record-breaking this year, be sure to enter the National Corn Growers Association’s National Corn Yield Contest. (7/9/2009)
• Hedge Your Operating Loans
  Everywhere we turn, we hear of impending inflation and rising interest rates. (7/9/2009)
• On the Global Ag Bandwagon
  Investors convene to share global farmland strategies (6/25/2009)
• Rules of the Road
  Global farmland investors share their "must dos" when investing here or abroad (6/25/2009)
• New Panama Canal Project Will Affect Grain Shipments
  A new project widening the Panama Canal will allow bigger cargo vessels to pass through it. (6/25/2009)
• How Many Hogs Will Be Liquidated?
  Hog herds predicted to be down (6/25/2009)
• Climate Change Compromise
  A major step for the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 was made yesterday as House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn. and Energy Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif. reached an agreement. (6/25/2009)
• Credit Tight for Rural America
  Take steps to protect your farm during the credit crunch (6/25/2009)
• Farm Income Prospects Deteriorate
  The farm income outlook for 2009 has deteriorated significantly because of lower commodity prices and cash receipts, reports John Kruse, an economist at IHS Global Insight. (6/11/2009)
• Summer Ride Up?
  In at the least the short term, grain prices may be headed higher, believes Craig Haugaard, grain origination manager with South Dakota Wheat Growers. (6/11/2009)
• More Than You’d Think
  Knowing that the average age of farmers is in the mid-50s, you might be surprised to learn that using USDA’s definition of a beginning farmer/rancher (in business for 10 years or less), they make up about a quarter of operators. (6/11/2009)
• Savings are Hard to Come By
  Livestock producers were first hit by high feed costs and now by the weakening U.S. and world economy. (6/11/2009)
• Study Shows Cap-and-Trade Not Favorable for Farmers
  Farmers’ incomes could take a big hit if cap-and-trade legislation passes, according to a study released by the Heritage Foundation. The study outlines the impact a cap-and-trade system would have on the agricultural community. (6/11/2009)
• House Ag Chairman: EPA Stay Out of Agriculture
  The Environmental Protection Agency needs to stay out of farm policy, says House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.). Without that concession in the final draft of any climate change bill, he will not support it, Peterson said in an exclusive interview with Top Producer on Wednesday morning. (6/11/2009)
• Recession Hits Cotton Hardest
  The recession is a mixed bag for consumer demand for ag commodities, according to economists at Rabobank. (5/28/2009)
• Positive Signs in the Country
  A monthly poll covering components of the Rural Mainstreet Index are finally pointing positive. (5/28/2009)
• Check Pests from Your Computer
  With spring planting in full swing, you might be worried what’s crawling around in your planted fields. Well, don’t stress because with a few clicks you and check your pest threats. (5/28/2009)
• Ag Credit Demand Stays Strong
  Farmers and ranchers are still expanding and investing in their businesses, according to the results of ABA Center for Agricultural & Rural Banking’s annual “Farm Bank Performance” report. (5/28/2009)
• East-West Crop Disparity
  This week, USDA reported corn planting up 20 percentage points--to 82% complete, compared with the 5-year average of 93%. (5/28/2009)
• EPA Rule Could Wreck Biofuel Competition
  The biofuels industry has had a lot to say about the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lately, and not much of it is nice. (5/14/2009)
• County Cash Rent Data Now Available
  Want to know how much farmers in your county are paying for cash rent? The answer is only a click away. (5/14/2009)
• Energy Prices Weaker in 2009
  Energy prices rose in early May following reports suggesting that the U.S. economy may have reached a turning point in the current recession, at least in some sectors, reports the Energy Information Administration. (5/14/2009)
• SURE Deadline Approaches
  Monday, May 18, is the drop-dead date for SURE (Supplemental Revenue). (5/14/2009)
• Threat to Ag Trucking
  Most commercial truckers are limited to 11 hours of driving time, followed by 10 hours off duty. Agriculture is exempted when driving within 100 miles, allowing shuttling of both inputs and production, under a 2005 law known as SAFETEA-LU. (4/30/2009)
• Media Watch: H1N1 Flu Virus Coverage
  Swine Flu is the hot topic of the day, even if it is inappropriately named. (4/30/2009)
• World Economic Situation Affecting Many Facets of Agriculture
  During Informa Economics’ recent Grain and Oilseed Transportation Conference in Memphis, Tenn., the world economic situation was a hot topic. (4/30/2009)
• ACRE Program Clarifications
  On March 31, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced registration for farm programs, including the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program, are extended to Aug. 14. (4/30/2009)
• Guard Against Troubled Banks
  Stories from the Denver Post this month tell of a grim reality for struggling banks, and their customers, across the country. (4/30/2009)
• Will Volcano Eruption Affect U.S. Weather?
  That’s a question we received from one forward thinking farmer following Alaska’s Mt. Redoubt eruption. (4/15/2009)
• Natural Gas (and Fertilizer?) Could Head Up
  A technical trading company, VantagePoint, provided the chart shown here. When the blue line (forecast) crossed below the black line (actual), they predicted the market would trend down. (4/15/2009)
• Hedges Back in Favor
  Unlike last year, when futures hedges resulted in major deductions from market value for the advisers in our track records, several now have positive values. (4/15/2009)
• U.S. Farmers Today
  Check out these numbers that describe today''s farmers. (4/15/2009)
• Break the Downward Vortex
  Usually, the economy is self-stabilizing, Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council told USDA’s Ag Outlook Forum. (4/2/2009)
• Lower Transportation Costs Support Basis Prices
  The low costs you’ve been seeing at the gas station are helping your corn and soybean basis prices. JC Hoyt, director of risk management services for Cash Grain Bids, says lower fuel costs across the U.S. are supporting strong basis gains this year. (4/2/2009)
• Long-Term Grain Demand Looks Strong
  Population growth and increasing per capita consumption should push grain demand over the next decade and a half, says Rich Pottorff, Doane Agricultural Services chief economist. (4/2/2009)
• Weather Forecast for Spring Planting
  With severe flooding in the Red River Valley and Upper Missouri River Valley, farmers are casting a weary eye to the weather for the upcoming 2009 planting season. (4/2/2009)
• Retire On Grain
  In the March 2009 issue of Top Producer, tax consultant Lance Fulton with Kennedy & Coe offered a unique plan for building a retirement fund with grain while also reducing the burden of paying self-employment tax on that grain in the article Pay Less at Tax Time. (4/2/2009)
• Optimistic Outlook for Global Agriculture
  Global demand is not slowing down, says John Kruse, managing director of agriculture services for IHS Global Insight. He says there will be some slowdown for the next few years, but his firm is optimistic about the future of world agricultural growth. (3/19/2009)
• See What’s New at www.TopProducer-Online.com
  Watch and learn about the site’s expanded features as Sara Muri, Top Producer business and crops online editor, navigates through the site. (3/19/2009)
• Financial Stress Will Increase
  Agribusiness professionals expect financial stress to increase, according to a recent survey released by the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota. (3/19/2009)
• Wet Spring, Normal Summer?
  We reported in our February magazine that odds favor wetter than or normal precipitation in April-June. It still looks that way, says Allen Motew of QT Weather. (3/19/2009)
• Media Watch: Death on a Factory Farm
  Watch segments and learn more HBO’s recent documentary, Death on a Factory Farm, featuring undercover reporting on a hog farm in Ohio. Does it accurately portray livestock operations? (3/19/2009)
• A SURE thing?
  The 2008 farm bill places emphasis on helping farmers manage risk rather than supporting prices, says Carl Zulauf, Ohio State University ag economist. SURE is whole-crop disaster assistance, with payment tied to shortfalls in revenue. (3/5/2009)
• Changes in Crop Insurance Options
  Iowa State University Farm Management Specialist Steve Johnson offers some tips on determining which Crop Insurance options to choose for 2009. (3/5/2009)
• Economic Factors Influencing Your Farm
  What factors are affecting your farm’s bottom line in the current economy? Look beyond the farm gate, says Ron Plain, University of Missouri agricultural economics professor. (3/5/2009)
• Utterback: Make Your Fertilizer Game Plan
  Where are fertilizer prices headed? How should farmer prepare for this season? Listen in as Farm Journal Economist Bob Utterback provides insight to the volatile fertilizer industry. (3/5/2009)
• John Deere Stretches Planters to 120’
  Big planter stretches the company’s booth at National Farm Machinery Show (2/19/2009)
• Equipment Leasing Options Expand
  AGCO is the first equipment manufacturer to offer short-term equipment leasing programs for combines. The program, called Harvest Solutions, is being launched this Spring in the High Plains and Western Corn Belt with five combines. (2/19/2009)
• Positive Peer Pressure
  Speaking at the annual TEPAP (The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers) conference in Austin, Texas, Danny Klinefelter, Texas A&M economist, pointed out several instances where peer groups and business networks can benefit farmers. (2/19/2009)
• Acreage Game of Chicken
  The much ballyhooed acreage battle of 2009 may be a game of chicken. High fertilizer prices and tanking commodity prices are on a head-on collision course and farmers are stuck in the middle because something has to be planted soon. It just seems nobody wants to plant much of anything when weighing all the factors together. (2/19/2009)
• Cotton Crunch Continues
  The economic situation that chopped cotton acreage and suppressed prices for the crop the past couple of years will likely continue in 2009. (2/18/2009)
• Just How Big is China?
  Consider the following statistics provided by Scott Rozelle, Stanford University’s ag economist, who has been living in China. (2/5/2009)
• Ethanol Shifts Coming
  The ethanol industry should prepare for a shake-out year in 2009, says Jim Murphy, senior consultant with Context Network, an agribusiness management consulting firm, who spoke at the 2009 Top Producer Seminar. (2/5/2009)
• Top Producer Poll: How confident are you in the current agricultural economy?
  What level of confidence do you have in today’s ag economy? What factors influence your answer? (2/5/2009)
• Battle Costs by Sharing Machinery
  With input costs adding to uncertainty for the 2009 growing season, managing expenses will become even more important. Machinery sharing through ownership agreements may be the perfect solution. (2/5/2009)
• How Volatile Fertilizer Business Affects You
  Fertilizer demand across the globe is escalating, said Ford West, president of The Fertilizer Institute. This increasing demand is causing across the industry. See how it could affect your farm. (2/5/2009)
• Farm Risk Plans
  (1/12/2009)
• How is Your Co-op’s Health?
  For farmers and co-ops alike, it’s a new and fast-changing economic world, says Bob Engel, president and CEO of Denver-based CoBank, which lends money to farmers in some regions as well as to co-ops. (1/8/2009)
• More Evidence the Land Market is Weakening
  Land sales demand has softened, according to Jim Farrell, president and CEO of Farmers National Company in Omaha, Neb. (1/8/2009)
• New Flexibility for Cash Rents?
  Iowa State University Extension Economist Steven Johnson believes the Farm Service Administration (FSA) will loosen regulations for renters who use flex lease agreements. (1/8/2009)
• Farmer Access to Credit Still Tight
  The last 12 months are a taste of what producers will continue to see in terms of access to credit, says Emily French, associate director, Treasury & Commodities Group Macquarie Bank. (1/8/2009)
• Shaky Ground: Russia-Ukraine Gas Dispute Could Affect U.S. Fertilizer Supply
  Due to a pricing dispute, Russia’s main gas company, Gazprom, has shut off gas supplies to neighboring Ukraine, Reuters reported earlier this week. The Russia-Ukraine dispute has already hit 18 countries, which depend on gas supplies from the two countries, as gas supplies were reduced or cut off in the last few days. (1/8/2009)
• Tectonic Land Shifts Likely
  Stopping by to have a simple cup of coffee with the landowner down the road could pay huge dividends in the very near future, says Iowa State University Economist Mike Duffy. (1/8/2009)
• Cost Control’s Strategic Role
  A reader asked us why market advisers always emphasize you know your cost of production when the market doesn’t care and may not offer you that much. Here’s a response from one adviser… (1/8/2009)
• How Sound Are Your Business Partners?
  The huge numbers now involved in buying inputs and selling product make it more imperative than ever that you do due diligence regarding your business partners. (1/8/2009)
• VeraSun Shows No Impact Yet on Basis
  Even with VeraSun Energy Corporation filing for bankruptcy earlier this week, there has been little impact on basis, according to research by Cash Grain Bids. (11/21/2008)
• Stray Dogs of Credit
  Credit may be available for ag producers even in this dicey economy but lenders will be dumping shaky borrowers, says Dave Kohl, agriculture and applied economics professor emeritus at Virginia Tech University. (11/21/2008)
• Planting-Time Woes in Brazil
  Weather is cooperating in most of Brazil, with the exception of the southern region, which is responsible for 45% of corn production, reports Eder Silveira of Weisul Agricola. Argentina, on the other hand, is still in severe drought in its main production areas. (11/19/2008)
• Few Affected by Lower Payment Limits
  According to USDA Economist Ron Durst, farm bill changes to payment limitations will affect very few farmers. Under the 2002 Farm Act, total payments from direct, countercyclical and marketing loan program payments could not exceed $360,000 for couples or farmers with multiple operations. The 2008 Farm Act retains the limits on direct and countercyclical payments but removes limits on marketing loan benefits. (11/19/2008)
• Farm Finances in Perspective
  Beware statistics. They can frighten or reassure. One financial adviser recently raised red flags based on this sobering fact: In the just past four years, U.S. farms and ranches have added total debt equaling $28.78 billion. That’s a lot of debt. (11/19/2008)
• Tax Changes that Affect You
  Now is the time to be planning your year-end tax decisions. This year’s volatile markets and input costs make doing a little extra planning extremely important. Read what tax changes occurred this year and how they could affect your farming operation. (11/19/2008)
• Agricultural Challenges in the Czech Republic
  Agriculture in the Czech Republic has not had an easy road. Throughout history heavy governmental involvement made the country’s agriculture industry shrink, expand and finally somewhat flourish. (11/18/2008)
• New Way to Finance
  Cargill AgHorizons just rolled out a new credit program. Rather than simply shutting off forward contracts, as some elevators did at times this year, CAH has teamed up with Wells Fargo to fund hedges on them. (11/5/2008)
• Multiple Problems Pack a Big Punch on the River
  Higher-than expected yields, a delayed harvest and high demand on operating barges are all adding up to barge rates at an 18-year high. “The problem is there are only so many barges, which kicks in the free market,” says Larry Daily, president of Alter Barge in Bettendorf, Iowa. “What few barges there are, are being bid up to higher prices.” (11/5/2008)
• Generate a Business Plan with a Series of Clicks
  You can create a comprehensive business plan with six simple stages, thanks to a software program developed by Purdue University. INVenture, free business-planning software, can help your agricultural business succeed by laying out the required steps. (11/5/2008)
• Upcoming Events to Aid Your Agribusiness
  The following agribusiness events are geared toward agricultural producers and are hosted by various universities and organizations. (11/5/2008)
• Credit to Limit Brazil Production
  The worldwide credit crisis hit right as Brazilian planting was getting underway, and it’s leaving that country’s acreage and production open to questions. (10/21/2008)
• The Long and the Short of It
  Before we shoot ”the funds” for first causing a price bubble and then leaving ag markets, bursting that bubble and causing prices to plummet, consider a recent study by University of Illinois economists Dwight Sanders, Scott Irwin and Robert Merrin. (10/21/2008)
• Cash Grain Commentary
  Corn and soybean basis levels were higher this week as sharply lower barge rates and a slow-paced corn harvest helped fuel the gains. For the week, corn basis was up 4-cents a bushel while soybean basis levels climbed 10 cents on average around the country. (10/21/2008)
• Troubled Waters: Barge Rates Soar to 18-Year High
  The transportation bill for barge operators on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers is skyrocketing. Currently, barge rates are at their highest mark since 1990. Seasonable demand, late harvests, damaged crops, and a shrinking barge fleet are all to blame. (10/21/2008)
• Presidential Campaigns Discuss Renewable Fuels
  Representatives from the McCain and Obama campaigns spoke with Mike Adams, host of AgriTalk on the many issues surrounding renewable fuels. The interviews were completed and aired on AgriTalk in the last two weeks. (10/21/2008)
• Good news on the input front?
  Natural gas futures are down 50% from their highs near $13.50/mmbtu, and fertilizer is coming down as well. After having less natural gas in storage than the five-year average from March through July, supplies have rebounded to slightly above the average. (10/8/2008)
• Global Economy Collapse?
  Will the bleak U.S. economic picture spread across the globe? While the total impact of the current economy crunch in the U.S. is still yet to be seen, you are probably wondering how it will affect your farm. Darrel Good, University of Illinois Extension marketing specialist, and Pat Westhoff, FAPRI international affairs program director, provide insight on the unstable economy. (10/8/2008)
• Markets are Ready to Buy
  It seems like business as usual at grain elevators, according to Darrel Good, University of Illinois Extension economist. “I haven’t heard of any [credit-related] issues.” Grain prices well off their highs mean the need for less cash than they anticipated this summer, he points out. (10/8/2008)
• Elevators Grow More Cautious
  Mix the collapse in the financial markets, newly restricted credit and volatile commodity prices and you get the potential for higher margin calls for grain elevators – so high that some may not be able to pay them. (10/8/2008)
• How the Economy Crunch Could Affect Your Farm
  Riding the current agricultural economy’s rollercoaster may be tossing and turning a little more than you’d like. The last few weeks have brought continued plunging in the commodity markets and an extremely weak dollar. While it’s hard to determine what the future may hold, you should be aware of the ways your farm might be affected. (10/8/2008)
• Cost and Availability Concerns for Credit
  Agriculture producers could have used a longer runway to be able to coast into this apparent economic downturn. But with commodity prices experiencing a significant sell off recently and concerns about credit availability and costs of credit becoming an issue, the landing appears to be more of a tail hook stop on an aircraft carrier than a greaser on a mile-long runway. (10/8/2008)
• Storms Keep Coming for Fertilizer Industry
  Fertilizer facilities in Texas and Louisiana may have weathered Hurricane Ike with only minor damages, but the industry continues to struggle with tight supplies and the impact of a collapsing financial market. (9/21/2008)
• Buying Nitrogen Can be a Natural Gas
  Naturally, you would know that the cost of farming is pretty dependent on natural gas cost. Fertilizer, irrigation and drying cost are all based on where natural gas is trading. There is now an active “mini-natural gas” contract that many of Allendale’s clients are using. Here is our latest recommendation… (9/21/2008)
• Farmers More Confident in Own Farms than Overall Farm Economy
  A tracking survey of Top Producer and Farm Journal Media subscribers shows farmers are starting to feel apprehension over sliding commodity prices. While they see this as a problem for the general farm economy, the prospects for the individual farmers seems to be improving slightly. (9/21/2008)
• Five Ways to Protect Your Farm in the Economy Crunch
  The current state of the U.S. economy may have you a little nervous about the financial future of your farming operation, and probably for a good reason. (9/21/2008)
• NGFA Says Further Action Needed by CME Group to Enhance Wheat Futures Contract Performance
  The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) today called the CME Group’s proposed changes to its CBOT wheat futures contract a “good first step,” but said much more dramatic, substantive changes need to be made to restore the “integrity and functionality” of the contract and its value to commercial hedgers. (9/11/2008)
• Access Pesticide Information Online
  Many questions can arise when working with pesticides. Luckily, answers to your pesticide questions are only a click away. The University of Illinois Extension recently launched the Pesticide Safety Education Program Web site. (9/10/2008)
• Which Way for Corn Yields?
  Since 1990, USDA has raised its corn production estimate from August to September 10 years and lowered it eight years. Should you play the report? (9/10/2008)
• Wheat Futures Changes Requested
  Relief may be on the way for producers whose cash prices are far below futures levels. Following months of meetings about the disconnect between futures and cash prices, the CME Group is requesting public comment on proposed amendments to the Chicago Board of Trade’s wheat futures contracts that aim to fix the problem. (9/10/2008)
• Top Three Mistakes to Avoid when Drying Grain
  No producer wants to throw away money, especially when the majority of input costs are on the rise. As harvest time approaches, many producers will be flipping the switch on their grain bins and watching their energy bills soar. Tom Dorn, extension educator with University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County, provides advice on how to avoid common and costly mistakes when drying grain. (8/28/2008)
• Basis swings more extreme but not unseasonal
  Corn basis at -45¢ and soybeans in the -90¢ area have a lot of growers up in arms—and wondering if cash prices have lost all relationship to futures. (8/28/2008)
• Cellulosic ethanol born in 2008?
  It’s the kind of news that stymies ethanol critics, at least for a time being. (8/28/2008)
• Acres Scarce in Brazil
  It has been expected that Brazilian soybean acreage would increase something around 2.5%, reports Eder Silveira, market analyst with Weisul Agricola in HERE Brazil. “But that figure was based on research concluded when Chicago futures were hitting $15.50/bu. Now, it is more likely to be a 2% increase, but it definitely doesn’t mean higher production. (8/28/2008)
• 2008 Farm Bill Tool: Comparing Old and New
  Wondering which parts of the new farm bill will affect your operation? USDA recently released a side-by-side comparison tool to help producers decipher the 2008 Farm Bill. (8/27/2008)
• Calculating ACRE’s Benefits
  (7/21/2008)
• December Breeches 50-Day Moving Average. It’s Happened Before.
  The last few weeks have shown a roller-coaster of a ride with the 50-day Moving Average. Worried about marketing your crops and livestock this year? Read Bill Biedermann’s column to gain insight on how this year’s corn, soybean and wheat crops, along with hogs and cattle, could play out in the market. (7/21/2008)
• Entrepreneurs and Agriculture
  Farmers the world over are very calculating managers. As individuals we deal with costs, returns and risks in very discriminating and efficient ways. Those with an interest in agriculture know and have seen the tremendous gains in productivity we have fought for over the years. (7/21/2008)
• Media Watch: Women in Agriculture
  (7/21/2008)
• The Earlier You Talk the Better
  (6/30/2008)
• No End in Sight to Weather Worries
  (6/30/2008)
• Making Markets
  Rarely is the link between producers and consumers direct. A web-based marketing tool, Food Industry MarketMaker, is hoping to change that by providing direct paths between anyone who eats or produces food. (6/9/2008)
• Allendale: Crop Conditions Similar to 2002 and 2003
  Corn emerged as of June 1 is estimated at 74% vs. a week earlier of 52%, vs. year earlier levels of 92% and a five-year average of 89%. The estimate called for 70 to 74% based on the performance of similar acting 2002 and 2003''s pace of emergence. (6/9/2008)
• Corn Market at Critical Juncture
  (5/23/2008)
• Protect Yourself: Have a Written Farm Lease
  (5/23/2008)
• Create A Successful Farm Plan
  Recently I spoke before a Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Leadership Conference. The topic of discussion was financial management strategies but ended up covering a lot more. (5/23/2008)
• Where in the World?
  Industry attention has shifted to the 2008-09 soybean crop in Brazil, now that planting is moving forward across the Midwest and USDA’s Supply & Demand report was released last week. World demand is expected to remain strong, but soybeans are in short supply. (5/23/2008)
• Farmer's Tax Guide
  Learn about the top three tax areas where you can capitalize. (3/20/2008)