Search results for 'Union City'

Will Changes in Trade and Low Commodity Prices Bring 1980 2.0?

By Kayla Hedrick

Published 4 weeks ago

The average age of a farmer in the United States today is over 58 years. It’s a well-used stat, one often cited with concern over transitions in U... Jimmy Carter’s decision to slap a grain embargo against the Soviet Union, ultimately slashing U... To date, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City reports that delinquency rates on loans remained low through 2017. However, USDA predicted farm income to drop 7 percent this year and the Kansas City Reserve warns, as more debt is taken on, U...

Categories: Ag Issues in Washington, Corn, Soybeans

Understanding Agrilend and the MERCOSUR

By Robert Morgan

Published 3 months ago

The MERCOSUR is a powerful dominant force in international global markets and originally began with its Members;Bolivia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina as direct Member Countries, in South America, however it is rapidly gaining momentum by its cooperative Associate Member Countries in Central America and its international prowess relies on its ability to cooperate confidential public private initiative agreements with cooperating countries desiring to do corporate business attached with attractive concensions by partnering with MERCOSUR for the sake of obtaining finance, capital, agricultural export or import, natural resources and as an exchange for favor. It is however important to distinguish its Members current state and its Associate Members current state... From 1609 until 1821, most of the territory within Central America—except for the lands that would become Belize and Panama—was governed by the Viceroyalty of New Spain from Mexico City as the Captaincy General of Guatemala... ”The Council and the Group bear a superficial resemblance to the European Union’s Council and Commission... The CPR seems to resemble the European Union’s Committee of Permanent Representatives (“COREPER”) which is a committee composed of the permanent representatives of the EU member states...

The problem with traditional Agricultural Lending

By Robert Morgan

Published 3 months ago

The problem with traditional Agricultural Lending is beyond Portfolio Theory, Diversification, Credit or Operational Risk, as well as Financial Servicing Capacity to service debt obligations in unpredictable markets predicated by supply and demand. Its problem is the Federal Reserve and a lack of understanding Commodity prices influenced by intermarket technical analysis conditioned to incremental, often unpredictable movements in bonds, stocks, treasuries, utilities, interest rates, and as well as international currencies pegged to the U. S. Dollar... The Office of the Comptroller of the currency (OCC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) (collectively, the agencies) in conjunction with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) are issuing this guidance to provide consistent interagency expectations on sound practices for managing funding and liquidity risk...

Categories: Agribusiness

Argentina rebounds thanks to partnering with Mexico, the newest and possibly wealthiest Associate Member of MERCOSUR

By Robert Morgan

Published 3 months ago

The Member; Argentina, has experienced fluctuations in economic growth over the past decade in recent years, growth has slowed sharply once again as dangerously high inflation pressures have weakened domestic demand. has undergone massive fluctuations in recent decades. Argentina has experienced wild fluctuations in economic growth over the past decade... Labor unions staged a series of major protests in December 2017 against the government’s economic and pension reforms that were passed by the parliament that month... Argentina is well connected through intra-city buses, commuter rail, trams and high-speed rails...

Spring is about to pop - Benton City, WA

By #SoilMatters

Published 6 months ago

Soil temperatures have risen 4-6F in the past week. This has signaled these Chelan #cherry buds to swell. This is an early ripening variety. Which means the number of days a farmer has to grow and nurture the crop are limited. This means every day counts from bloom until harvest and are critical to develop the fruit in preparation of harvest...

How Yield Champions Use Cover Crops for Growing Higher Bushels

By Laura Barrera

Published 4 months ago

There are many factors that can influence corn yield. In fact, Fred Below, a plant physiologist at the University of Illinois, identified seven of them, which he dubbed the “Seven Wonders of the Corn Yield World. ”The seven wonders, ranked in order of most influence on yield, are:WeatherNitrogenHybridPrevious cropPlant populationTillageGrowth regulatorsWhile Below was referring to the cash crop rotation in the fourth wonder, some farmers are taking it one step further by seeding cover crops. The benefit of added crop diversity along with improvements to soil health is paying off, as some of these farmers are achieving the highest yields in the country... His goal for using cover crops is to increase organic matter — which on most fields has gone from 2% or less to 7% and higher — break up the soil hardpan and increase the soil’s water-holding capacity...

On the Offensive with Cover Crops

By Pat Rogers

Published 8 months ago

In the past few years, we have made a concerted effort to increase the usage of cover crops and other conservation practices on our farm. I have learned a lot of lessons from this experience but one stands out above the rest. Being a good steward of the environment and aiming to produce high yields don’t have to be mutually exclusive... So what does this have to do with cover crops? As mentioned above, in years where water is your limiting factor cover crops can help mitigate some of the water stress by increasing the soil’s water holding capacity and also by providing shade to the soil surface... Cover crops help row crops access additional nutrients in the soil profile through four different biological processes: 1) The breakdown of carbon from decaying cover crop residue, 2) Roots from the cover crops produce “exudate acids” which convert minerals in the soil into plant available nutrients 3) The cover crops act as a host plant for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, which are microbes that have a direct effect on plant health and nutrient storage capacity of the soil within the root zone of the plant and 4) By producing additional Nitrogen with leguminous cover crops...

21st Century American Ag: Sourcing Successors and Finding Farmland

By Gregory Heilers

Published 2 months ago

It’s no secret that America’s farmers are aging... The harsh reality is that today, the land price to production capacity ratio is completely different than it was in the previous generation... That’s a land cost:production capacity of 1:2. ”Today, Polyface Farms is worth $7,000 an acre, yet the steer is worth only $700; the ratio of land cost to production capacity has shifted to 10:1. Land Value to Production Capacity (Per Acre) - Polyface Farms1961 – $90:$180 - 1:22018 – $7,000:$700 - 10:1Joel explained that “ratio change is why grandpa’s situation cannot be duplicated today...

The Story of AgFuse

By Pat Rogers

Published 2 months ago

In July of 2014, I sat in the audience on the last day of the InfoAg Conference in St Louis. It was my first major farm conference trip outside of somewhat local events that had been put on near my home in the Carolinas. Frankly, my mind was blown with this experience. I had taken in more new information in a three-day period than I had in the previous five years combined... In the future, we’ll also have the capacity to add classified ads, job postings, personalized event calendars and local marketing bids...

Nuisance Lawsuits are Taking a Bite Out of Big Pork

By Maria Dampman

Published 1 month ago

In 1611, William Aldred took his neighbor to court. Thomas Benton was being sued for “erecting a hogstye so near the house of the plaintiff that the air thereof was corrupted. ” In common language, the pigs stank, making it impossible for Aldred to enjoy his home which, in his words, had become “unbearable to live in... OptimaBio, a pig waste-to-energy company, has developed a plan to turn pig feces into energy sources like natural gas and electricity. In a very simplified explanation, covering the lagoons with large tarps and installing pumps to circulate the waste enables the capture of the toxic methane gas fumes which are then cleaned and converted into usable, environmentally-safe biogas and electricity...

Categories: Hogs