The Louisiana Farm Bureau News reported in May that 65% of US agricultural exports go through the Port of New Orleans, so saying the Mississippi River is important to the US seems an understatement. The data implies that nearly two thirds of US agricultural exports depart through this one port, so the near-record low water … Read More

Larger operating loans continued to boost farm lending activity at rural banks in the third quarter, said Kansas City Federal Reserve Economists Nate Kauffman and Ty Kreitman in a quarterly report. The volume of non-real estate farm loans increased by more than 10% for the third straight quarter, Kauffman and Kreitman said.  Operating loans accounted … Read More

There is no relief in sight for high feed costs, said Matthew Diersen, risk and Business management specialist at South Dakota State University in a letter to Extension agents from the Livestock Marketing Information Center called In The Cattle Markets.   STORAGE & INTEREST COSTS   With higher interest rates, the cost of storage becomes … Read More

Total red meat supplies in freezers on Sep. 30 were up about 1% from the previous month and up about 17% from last year, according to the USDA’s monthly Cold Storage report Monday. Frozen pork supplies were down slightly from the previous month but up about 14% from last year. Total frozen poultry supplies were … Read More

Large commodity index funds, known as managed money, took on a larger collective net long live cattle futures position during the week ended Tuesday as hedgers boosted their total net short position. The data came from the weekly Commitments of Traders report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday.   FUNDS GET LONGER CATTLE … Read More

This fall may be a time for cow/calf producers in and around Oklahoma to consider retaining calves this fall, or even buying them to sell as feeders next spring, said Oklahoma State University State Extension Beef Nutrition Specialist Paul Beck, in a letter to Extension agents called Cow-Calf Corner. Lack of wheat pasture and cost … Read More

Net national economic activity expanded modestly since the previous Beige Book report a month ago, said the October report Wednesday. The Beige Book is a Federal Reserve System publication about current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve districts.  It characterizes regional economic conditions and prospects based on a variety of mostly qualitative information, gathered … Read More