Despite mounting farm-sector pressure and limited profit opportunities, farmland value has continued to provide ongoing support and remains a key area to watch in coming months if leverage continues to increase, said the Omaha, Neb., branch of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank last week. Fourth-quarter 2018 farm lending continued to grow alongside a similar … Read More

Canadian feed yards started the new year with more cattle on hand than last year and the 2013-2017 average, yet placements of younger calves into these feedlots in December was very near average and last year. The data does not come from Stats Canada but from the private cattle analysis company CanFax and includes feedlots … Read More

Weekly average cash prices for slaughter steers in the Southern Plains are starting the year very near 2018 levels and on much the same trend. Data from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service compiled by Denver’s Livestock Marketing Information Service showed the average price for slaughter-ready cattle in the Southern Plains last week came to $123.85 … Read More

It doesn’t happen very often, but estimated cattle feeding margins last week were above those of beef packers. The revelation came in the Sterling Marketing Inc., Beef Profit Tracker, published by Drovers. For the week ended Jan. 11, estimated unhedged cattle feeding margins came to $104.16 a head, compared with estimated beef packer margins at … Read More

Pork production this year could be up from last year, but critical export markets still are up to the whims of government policy, rendering price forecasts difficult at best. The Livestock Marketing Information Center said in a market situation and analysis that there were fewer lightweight pigs reported than expected in the Dec. 20 Quarterly … Read More

The US Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that despite a decline of 0.1% in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, the all-items Consumer Price Index rose 1.9% in 2018. That was a smaller annual gain than the 2.1% increase in 2016 and 2017 but larger than the increases in any of the years … Read More

Eleventh District agricultural bankers responding to a Federal Reserve fourth-quarter survey last month, reported improved conditions across most regions. The Eleventh Federal Reserve District includes Texas, northern Louisiana and southern New Mexico. Crop yields have been good, particularly for corn and cotton, the survey showed.  However, some areas reported problems with the harvest because of … Read More