Economy

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Leaders of the House and Senate Ag committees are in active discussions about putting elements of a farm bill in an end-of-the year aid package, including possible new funding for commodity programs as well as crop insurance reimbursements.

Shoppers are more concerned about expenses for gas, housing, groceries and purchasing holiday gifts in 2024 than a year ago despite limited inflation, according to FMI: The Food Industry Association. 

Agricultural bankers report that farmers are significantly less profitable this year, especially in corn and other grains as well as in fruit and tree nuts, and delinquency rates are expected to begin rising.

The ag industry is watching to see how the Trump administration fulfills its pledge to deport millions of immigrant workers. Dairy farmers are especially concerned.

President-elect Donald Trump has named former New York Republican congressman Lee Zeldin as his choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

USDA lowered its forecasts for the soybean and corn harvests based on the latest conditions, but the cuts weren’t enough to raise the department’s price estimates for this year’s crops. The FAO Food Price Index hit 127.4 points last month, 2% above September and 5.5% above the level a year ago. 

Farmer sentiment rose sharply in October as producers expressed more confidence that there won’t be an extended downturn in the farm economy, according to the Purdue University CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

Egg prices are spiking again this fall and could go even higher should avian outbreaks further reduce layer flocks. 

Thirteen World Food Prize laureates, including 2024 honoree Geoffrey Hawtin, issued a statement Wednesday calling global hunger the “big issue being overlooked” in U.S. elections.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is going after Donald Trump in a podcast aimed at rural residents, specifically pointing to Trump’s plan to impose across-the-board tariffs.