Farm News and Views

Good morning. This is Bob Bragg. Welcome to the March 12^th edition of Farm News and Views.

Early last fall, the long range weather forecasts for a wetter than normal winter were eagerly received by farmers and ranchers. But by mid November, a lot of folks were wondering if we were in for another dry year. When winter hit though, it delivered. During all of the sometimes heavy snow, I didn’t hear any farmers or rancher complaining about drifted in drives and the difficulties of having to feed livestock in coveralls and muck boots. But our late winter snow, rain and warmer days have brought a new plague especially to livestock producers…boot sucking off Mud. This has coincided with Calving cows, lambing ewes and departing soil stabilizing frost. An example of the changing conditions was seen at the Old Fort at Hesperus, where Coordinator Beth Lashell posted a picture three weeks ago of cows being fed in a valley of snow that had been carved out by a snow blower on the back of a big John Deere tractor. Last week they were searching for bedding for cows that were starting to calve on ground that was starting to turn into a quagmire…I still haven’t heard any farmers or ranchers complaining about the snow and rain we’vereceived or the mud. read more

Good Morning. This is Bob Bragg with the March 5^th edition of Farm News and Views.

There’s been a lot of trade chatter over the past few days. On Friday, President Trump tweeted that he had asked China to immediately remove all tariffs on agricultural products because the trade talks were going nicely. Recently, the USDA reported that sales of soybeans and other farm commodities had fallen from 20 billion dollars in 2017 to 16.3 billion in the fiscal year 2018, and are projected to decrease by 9 billion dollars in 2019. These statistics are concerning to grain farmers who are suffering through the sixth year of low commodity prices. When coupled with the Congressional Budget Office projections indicating that farmers will grow near-record crops this year in an attempt to generate revenue, while at the same time, slowly working down a soybean stockpile that is expected to approach a billion bushels this summer This is the largest soybean inventory ever. So farmers are hoping for a trade resolution sooner rather than later. read more

Good morning! Welcome to the February 12^th edition of farm news and views.

Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809, 210 years ago today, in Hardin County, in northwestern Kentucky. His father, Thomas, was a farmer who eked out a living on hard scrabble farms first in Kentucky, where they lived until Abraham was seven years old. After his father lost his farm in a land title dispute in 1816, they moved 100 miles northwest to Spenser County Indiana. His mother died there two years later, and his father remarried in 1819. Abraham grew up on the Spenser county farm, which probably helped form Abraham’s work ethic and character. In 1830, Thomas gave up on that densely wooded, hilly, and rocky farm, and moved his family, with help from his 21 years son, to Macon County Illinois, south of Decatur. Abraham then when out on his own and worked at a number of different jobs before practicing law and entering politics with election to the Illinois State Legislature in 1834. read more

Good morning. This is Bob Bragg with the February 5^th edition of farm news and views.

Trade has been a hot topic in agricultural news over the past week. When it was reported last Friday that Chinese negotiators announced that China would purchase 5 million metric tons of soybeans, the futures markets reacted with a giddy uptick on soybeans. But by Saturday morning, the balloon had burst, because everyone realized that there was no time table associated with the sale. While 5 million tons of soybeans sounds like a lot of beans, the phantom sale amounted to less than 4% of 2018’s total crop of 4.6 billion bushels, and soybean exports to China are already running way behind the quantity of beans that U.S. farmers had sold to China by this time last year. read more

Good morning. This is Bob Bragg. Welcome to the January 29^th edition of Farm News and Views.

The end of the government shutdown is a relief for the 800,000 federal workers who haven’t received a paycheck since the shutdown started on December 21^{st .} At this stage, it is unknown how fast the USDA will get the normal programs back on track, but farmers and ranchers who’ve not been able to negotiate loans, sign up for government crop and conservations programs are ready to get to work on planing for the 2019 growing season. read more

Good morning! Welcome to the January 22 edition of Farm News and Views. This is Bob Bragg.

If the cold weather and snow is getting you down, keep in mind that the mountain snow bank is receiving some good deposits that we can withdraw this summer. And, remember, spring will be here in eight weeks! read more

Good morning! This is Bob Bragg. Welcome to the January 15^th edition of Farm News and Views.

According to a new Government Accountability Office report published last week, nearly two million College students who may be eligible for food assistance might not be enrolled in the program and it suggests that the USDA should help these students sign up for SNAP benefits. The study found that low-income college students who are potentially eligible for food stamps usually have at least one additional risk factor for food insecurity. This includes being a first-generation college student or they are single parents. The report also encourages college administrators to help students understand that the program is available to them. read more