Items Tagged with 'Gary Schnitkey'

Rep. Frank Lucas, the chair of the House Ag Committee during the development of the 2014 farm bill, has an optimistic view of the newly-elected House Speaker and discussed his perspective on how the timelines for the farm bill and appropriations bills may be influenced by this change in leadership on this week's Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.

Prices for fertilizer products have been dropping for months from highs last year after many producers cut down on applications, but major manufacturers such as Mosaic and Nutrien see farmer demand rising amid bullish fundamentals.

Brazil has been steadily planting more corn in recent years, and production may be on the verge of explosive growth as farmers double and even triple crop to take advantage of high prices, Chinese demand and a rising domestic ethanol sector.

The Biden administration wants to make more farmers eligible for insurance when they grow wheat and soybeans in the same crop year, but some industry experts doubt the plan will do as much as the White House hopes in scaling up wheat production.

Fertilizer prices were already soaring due to weather and supply chain shocks exacerbated by the COVID pandemic before Russia invaded Ukraine in February, leading USDA to announce a $250 million investment in new U.S. production capacity. The question is how much impact that funding can have.

The 2014 farm bill ended direct payments to farmers, but the use of the Market Facilitation Program raises questions about how producers will be compensated during hard times.

As farmers struggle to plant crops or take prevented planting options this growing season, they aren't the only ones hurting. Ag retailers fear millions in losses and leftover inventory.