American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall on Friday provided some hard numbers for reporters about how COVID-19 is impacting commodity prices. In the past month, dairy prices have dropped 26-36%, corn futures have dropped by 14%, soybean futures are down 8% and cotton futures have plummeted 31%. Hog futures are down by 31%. A surge in demand for beef …
Important Info About PPP for Farmers
The Georgia Peanut Commission hosted a webinar discussion on Friday with U.S. Congressmen Sanford Bishop (D-GA) and Austin Scott (R-GA) and Bob Redding, The Redding Firm, to learn more about the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law March 27. The discussion includes important information for farmers and ranchers about the Payroll Protection Program …
Dairy Groups Call for Direct Aid
Groups representing dairy farmers and cooperatives in the Midwest are urging the federal government to provide direct aid to farmers and to expedite the purchase of additional dairy foods due to unprecedented disruptions in supply and demand due caused by the COVID-19 national emergency. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the groups cited the mass closure of …
AMVAC® Closes Agreement With Clean Seed Capital Group
AMVAC®, an American Vanguard® company, today announced a strategic license and investment agreement with Clean Seed Capital Group Ltd. The relationship results in Clean Seed licensing to AMVAC certain intellectual property rights for an initial investment of US$2,500,000, plus an undisclosed royalty that will be payable to Clean Seed by AMVAC in conjunction with AMVAC’s future SIMPAS™ hardware sales. AMVAC …
Lower Ethanol Demand Could Impact Planting Decisions
USDA’s 2020 Prospective Plantings report released Tuesday estimates planted acres for corn this year at 97.0 million acres, up 8 percent or 7.29 million acres from last year. But when farmers were surveyed a month ago, coronavirus had yet to have the impact it is now having on ethanol demand and prices thanks to a drastic cut in demand for …
Summit Agro USA Launches New Website, Products
Summit Agro USA today announced the launch of a new website designed from the ground up to be a solutions-centric tool with a robust database that catalogs multiple diseases, insects and weeds for over 600 crops. “We surveyed our customers and distribution partners about website resources. What we found was that these other sites tend to be product-focused in their …
USDA Forecasts Increased Corn and Bean Acres
USDA’s 2020 Prospective Plantings report released Tuesday forecasts eight percent more corn acres this year compared to 2019 and ten percent more soybean acres. Corn planted area for all purposes in 2020 is estimated at 97.0 million acres, up 8 percent or 7.29 million acres from last year. Compared with last year, planted acreage is expected to be up or …
World Pork Expo Cancelled
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) announced that the 2020 World Pork Expo in June will be cancelled due to COVID-19 human health concerns. “While deeply disappointed to cancel this year’s Expo, NPPC’s board of directors unanimously agreed it was prudent to make this decision now,” said NPPC President Howard “A.V.” Roth, a pork producer from Wauzeka, Wisconsin. “By eliminating …
GROWMARK FS Members Helping Food Banks
Farmers and grain companies in the Midwest are stepping up to help feed those in need. GROWMARK system members FS GRAIN and Gold Star FS have started accepting grain donations which will raise money for food banks across the region in a move they hope will spread nationwide. Mike Schaver, grain department manager with Gold Star FS, says he is …
New Agri-Pulse Poll Shows Strong Farm Support for Trump
The latest Agri-Pulse poll of U.S. farmers and ranchers shows support for President Donald Trump has grown despite their own economic concerns. Some 72% of producers nationwide who were surveyed from Feb. 19 through March 13 said they were willing to support Trump’s reelection, up from 69% during the fall of 2018 and 45% in the spring of 2018. Some …