INDUSTRY NEWS

The agronomy and farm supply sector will be stressed through 2019, and profitability for ag retailers could face a multipronged threat. Poor weather last fall and so far this spring has combined with stressed farm financials to pressure ag retailer margins and impact farmer decisions that could reduce sales volumes, according to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange Division.

Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs

• Producers may make a new election to obtain either ARC or PLC for the 2019 crop year, which also will apply for the 2020 crop year.

It’s the big question, right? Which will make my farm more profitable – getting bigger or trimming it down?

Ag economists Gregg Ibendahl and Terry Griffin from Kansas State University examined data from the Kansas Farm Management Association (KFMA), which has been helping farmers since the 1930s and has computerized farm records back to the early 1970s, to answer this question.

In Mississippi, a coordinated research and demonstration/extension effort has substantially increased alfalfa acreage since 2014.

Donations of hay and fencing can be made at several designated sites in Nebraska for livestock owners or managers who were impacted by the recent adverse weather events. Sites are in Norfolk, Lincoln, Columbus, Albion, Verdigre and at university facilities near Ithaca and Concord. Please see this list on University of Nebraska Extension's flood resources website for contact and drop-off details for each site.

The pace of 2019 U.S. tractor and combine sales remains ahead of a year ago, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). The outlook for the rest of the year hinges on the completion of trade agreements and their potential impact on U.S. farm income.