Kevin McNew

Grain prices at the start of 2023 continue to be elevated at historic highs. Since the early days of the COVID pandemic, U.S. grain markets have soared, nearly doubling in the past two years. While prices at the end of 2022 are below the highs set in the spring, conditions heading into 2023 should

Infrastructure Impacts from Climate Change: An Examination of the Mississippi River The Mississippi River is a vital resource for U.S. agriculture connecting farm products in the Midwest to export terminals at the Louisiana Gulf. Roughly 60% of all US corn and soybean exports flow to the Louisiana G

[FBN Members: Click here to access the September 2022 U.S. Corn & Soybean Yield Forecasts Report ] [Not an FBN member yet? Click the link above and create a free FBN account to unlock the report.] The USDA released their most recent Crop Production report on August 12, 2022, based on initial survey-

The 2022 growing season has seen U.S. farmers facing many critical challenges with late planting, record-setting heat, persistent drought and regionalized flooding. The result has led to sub-par growing conditions in many key growing regions.  USDA will release their first survey on U.S. corn and

Another big USDA report, and another moment where many commodity analysts were caught off guard about acreage estimates.  Heading into the June Acreage report, traders collectively believed USDA might increase corn acres by 400,000 from USDA’s 89.5 million estimate in March. Conversely, the trade ex

After a steady climb over the past six months from $5.50 to $7.50 a bushel for the bellwether December 2022 futures contract, the past three weeks have seen relative choppy trade keeping prices hovering around the low $7 mark.  USDA’s acreage report at the end of June along with US growing season we

On May 18th, UN Secretary General António Guterres warned of a looming global food shortage that could last for years ( UN Press Release ). As wheat prices skyrocket, brought on in part by the war in Eastern Europe, the recent UN alarm highlights the growing humanitarian and geopolitical threats tha

It has not been a good growing season for wheat farmers in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Even in the fall when wheat was seeded, conditions were not particularly good and in many regions it has gotten much worse over the past six months. Case in point, Stevens County, Kansas in the southwest part of t

Wheat farmers have been counting down the days until they can harvest their crop and reap record high prices. With the war in Eastern Europe showing no signs of letting up, wheat markets have skyrocketed to unforeseen levels as key supplies from Ukraine and Russia will be less available to world buy

A lot has happened in the 3 short months of 2022. That’s why we felt it was important to take a look at the state of agriculture in 2022 to see what events led us to where we are today and where we’re headed in the future. This report is meant to bring more transparency to agriculture and help far