Category / USDA

by Hoosier Econ

U.S. Beef Herds Will Expand in 2015

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One area of economic data I follow is where corn is being sold to. Recent data has pointed to farmers raising cattle which means an expanding beef market. I did some research and found this forecast at FarmandDairy.com:

U.S. Department of Agriculture semiannual report that cattle numbers have increased by slightly more than 1 percent following seven years of decline.
The most significant expansion has been in beef cows, which were up 2 percent from the previous year, the USDA said.
There were 610,000 new beef cows added nationally. Hurt said the expansion is likely to continue through most of this decade.


One reason for the expansion is prices farmers are getting for beef:

“These were led by record-high cattle prices in 2014 with finished cattle averaging near $155 per live hundredweight and Oklahoma 500-550 pound steer calves averaging $250,” Hurt said.

by Hoosier Econ

Hoosier Wine Sales May Soar

Wine businesses are getting closer to widening their sales through the Internet. Story courtesy WNDU:

A state legislative panel has endorsed a proposal that would allow Indiana residents to buy wine directly from a winery without first having to make an in-person visit.

The Senate Public Policy Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to send the bill to the full Senate for consideration.

The bill would eliminate the current requirement that residents having wine shipped to them first conduct a face-to-face transaction to ensure that the buyer is at least 21 years old. The proposal would require buyers to provide a copy of a government-issued ID to confirm they are of legal age.

Bill sponsor Sen. Phil Boots of Crawfordsville says the change will give Indiana wine consumers more choices and help wineries in the state to grow their business.

by Hoosier Econ

Percent of Fuel Cost in Your Grocery Store Bill

With fuel prices dropping over the last several months, many shoppers are asking why food prices have not shown corresponding drops in prices. The asnwer may surprise you in how much fuel costs affect grocery store bills.

Annemarie Kuhns with the Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service is reporting that only 4.7 cents of every dollar spent at the supermarket goes toward food transportation costs

So less than 5% of your bill is attributed to fuel costs.

by Hoosier Econ

Inflation Alert: Chicken Wings

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According to the Daily Northeast Broiler/Fryer Report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Marketing Service the price for retailers purchasing chicken wings to sell at their business has jumped by 35% compared to last year. This was reported in PRNewswire:

The average price (wholesale, not retail) of whole wings is currently $1.71/lb, up from $1.35/lb at the same time last year.

This is not the highest ever seen:

This is down significantly from when wing prices hit a record high of $2.11/lb in January, 2013.

by Hoosier Econ

Food Stamps Usage Increasing

Food stamp usage is on the rise again in America. Rough estimate of what the federal government spends is around $77 Billion a year. What makes this news worthy is it conflicts with the notion that the economy is in great shape. Another problem is the program is very lax on rules and has become a new “social justice” program.

Here is more from CNSNews.com

The number of beneficiaries on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—AKA food stamps–has topped 46,000,000 for 38th straight months, according to data released by the Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In October 2014, the latest month reported, there were 46,674,364 Americans on food stamps. Food stamp recipients have exceeded 46 million since September 2011.

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If you don’t believe this program isn’t somewhat over used, let this stat sink in:

In 1969, the average participation in the SNAP program stood at 2,878,000. In 2014, average participation grew to 46,536,000 showing an increase of 1516.96 percent.

by Hoosier Econ

Rise of the Pork

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Hoosier Ag reporter Cayla McLeland is reporting pork will be on the rise in the near future for the consumer.

Purdue Extension Ag Economist, Dr. Chris Hurt, says expansion could reach seven percent higher by the end of this year.

“Breeding herd has grown by over 212,000 animals over the last year and that’s mostly in the center of the country. The western corn belt breeding herd increased by 105,000 head with Missouri rising by 55,000 animals. Iowa by 40,000 and Minnesota by 10,000 head. The second-largest growth region was down in the southern plains and they’re still recovering, of course, from the long-term drought. Both Texas and Oklahoma have added 20,000 animals to the breeding herd over the last year.”

Consumers faced higher prices a few years back due to farmers thinning herds from the drought and the the PED virus hitting hard last winter.

Read the rest of the article here.

by Hoosier Econ

Farmers Buying Most of the Farmland for Sale in 2014

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Stumbled upon some interesting data about buyers of farmland while researching farmland value. This comes from AgriNews:

One thing they have noticed, Aupperle said, is that more farmers are purchasing the land. During the first nine months of the year, 71 percent of the land was purchased by farmers or their families.

“Farming community has really stepped up, while outside investors seem to be waiting to see if a correction comes,” Aupperle said. “The farming community has a lot of money from remaining steady for two years and when investors come back, an upward trend should continue.

by Hoosier Econ

2014 Corn & Soybean Yields Explode

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Harvest season is wrapping up across the nation. Here is some Indiana and national stats gathered up from various sources around the internet:

Corn for grain production will set a new record in 2014 at 14.5 billion bushels on fewer acres planted compared to 2013. World corn production is also setting new records.

Soybean farmers are now expected to harvest 3.96 billion bushels, up 31 million bushels from the October estimate. Fifteen states including Indiana, Missouri and South Dakota are expected to report records for the amount of soybeans grown per acre with the average yield at 47.5 bushels per acre. Area for harvest in the United States is forecast at a record 83.4 million acres, unchanged from last month.

(Indiana) Corn yield was unchanged from last month’s projection of 186 bushels per acre. This will be a record corn yield for Indiana if realized. Corn for grain harvested acres was 5.75 million acres. Total production is still expected to weigh in at a record-breaking 1.07 billion bushels. Soybean yield at 54.0 bushels per acre was unchanged from last month’s forecast. This yield if realized will be a record for soybean yield in Indiana. The soybean harvest is anticipated to rake in 296 million bushels, which would make 2014 a record production year.

H/T Hoosieragtoday.com for recent numbers

by Hoosier Econ

Thanksgiving Turkey Price is Rising

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EconomicPolicyJournal.com is reporting inflation now hitting turkey:

In the week ending last Friday, an 8 to 16 pound hen sold at wholesale for about $1.19 a pound and a 16 to 24 pound tom sold for about $1.17 a pound. Both price are sharply higher than the $1.03 average for hens and $1.04 average for toms in 2013. Last week. the price for fresh turkey was $1.44 a pound according to the USDA.