Agriculture

The U.S. hemp industry is poised for growth, but there are serious financial, regulatory and agronomic risks that farmers must understand. A report by Rabo AgriFinance says the market is “highly fragmented,” and there is no reliable source for pricing and production data. The report notes that the 2018 Farm Bill set off a process to completely overhaul hemp industry regulations, including the legalization of hemp and hemp-derived products. [node:read-more:link]

Guidelines are important tool to help veterinarians make humane decisions in the most-dire situations, including natural disasters, hazardous disease outbreaks or terrorist incidents. [node:read-more:link]

Are we on the brink of another farm crisis? To help us explore that question this hour, guest host Chris Farrell spoke with an academic who shared what happened in the 1980s, when American farmers faced a real economic crisis.And then an economist and a Minnesota farmer explored what's happening now. [node:read-more:link]

Shot on location across the country, The American Farm is an authentic portrait of the fight to go from seed to stalk, and from farm to fork. The History Channel series presents an up-close look at one full year of family farming, told through an unprecedented year on the ground, capturing breathtaking visuals, private moments and personal interviews. [node:read-more:link]

Weather-induced disasters in multiple points across the nation in recent weeks seem to be occurring at a rate that has run unabated in recent years. Massive flooding in the Missouri River basin has taken lives and caused billions of dollars in agricultural losses in the Midwest. Flooding is continuing throughout this week in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri where a late winter storm – a so-called "bomb cyclone" – has sent river waters soaring above their banks, breaching more than a dozen levees and causing fatalities. [node:read-more:link]

A new report sees few reasons for optimism in the U.S. agricultural sector, pointing to the global slowdown impacting demand, the continued trade war with China and flooding in the nation’s farm belt. “U.S. agriculture will face challenges in 2019 as slowing domestic and global economic growth rates, trade talks continue and weather casts uncertainty in the short- and long-term markets, ” the latest quarterly rural economic review from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange division said.According to CoBank, U.S. commodity markets remain focused on negotiations between U.S. [node:read-more:link]

China’s decision to block imports of Canadian canola products signals a significant threat to Canada’s canola farming industry — and has the government rushing to resolve the dispute. The canola farming and export business in Canada is a major economic driver and represents one of the country’s most valuable commodities. The crop contributes approximately $26.7 billion to the economy every year and employs more than 250,000 people, according to Brian Innes, vice-president of public affairs with the Canola Council of Canada. [node:read-more:link]

According to Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, stored grain damaged by floodwaters cannot be sold or fed, meaning a direct loss for most farmers. Some individual insurance policies may cover part of the loss. Good grain sitting more than 1 foot above the flood line can be fed and sold with specific case-by-case FDA approval. Farmers are to contact their local Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the best way to dispose of damaged grain in their area.Flood damage across the Midwest is expected to top $3 billion, with ag losses in Iowa alone estimated at $214 million. [node:read-more:link]

The PLC (Price Loss Coverage) program option makes payments only if MYA (marketing year average) price is below ERP.  Thus, a key program decision factor is the relationship between a covered commodity’s expected MYA price and ERP.  Assuming a simple forecast that 2019 MYA price is the currently projected 2018 MYA price, expected 2019 MYA price ranges from 23% under ERP for long-grain rice to 51% above ERP for sesame seed (see Figure 1, Appendix Table 1, and Data Note 1).  Corn, soybean, and wheat MYA price is 4% under, 2% over, and 6% under ERP, respectively, as of March 2018.  Only 1 othe [node:read-more:link]

As the left hardens its commitment to fighting climate change, social injustice, and rampant capitalism, the question of what to do about animals will become inescapable. [node:read-more:link]