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ASFMRA AgNews - Vol. 13 Issue XLVII [November 6, 2018]

By ASFMRA Press posted 11-05-2018 07:36 PM

  

4 Rules On Refinancing Your Farm

Your lender works hard to keep you as a client, but even the best banking relationship can come to a close. Your farming operation may expand beyond the comfort zone of your lender. Your loan officer may relocate or retire. Your bank can scale back or withdraw from agriculture production. Your farm may not qualify for a loan renewal in times of low commodity price cycles.

Because these events can occur, it pays to be prepared for a farm refinance. First, understand how lenders evaluate risk and the type of financial metrics they take into consideration when assessing a farming operation. Although these aren’t all the factors lenders examine, there are four rules that form the pillars of farm refinance:

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Midterm Elections May Impact Farm Bill, Trade

A flip in either or both chambers of Congress with next week’s midterm elections may reverberate into pig farms and soybean fields.

At issue in the Nov. 6 vote is President Donald Trump’s trade war with China as well as domestic entitlement programs.

The world’s second-largest economy slapped tariffs on U.S. agricultural products, including pork and soybeans. That prompted Trump to provide $12 billion in assistance to farmers. Domestically, farm programs began to expire Sept. 30 and Congress hasn’t passed a new bill.

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Wine Grape Harvest 'Played Out Like a Dream'

Following a long growing season characterized by moderate temperatures throughout the spring and summer, California’s 2018 harvest played out like a dream for winegrowers in regions across the state, according to a report by the San Francisco-based Wine Institute.

Harvest began anywhere from 10 days to three weeks later than in 2017, and vintners are reporting exceptional quality, thanks to consistent growing conditions and cooler temperatures, which allowed the grapes to mature slowly.

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Communication Key to California's Water Future

UC scientists, students and water agency professionals took a critical look inwards and a radical look outwards when they gathered in Sacramento in October to reimagine California water.

The event was the fourth annual gathering sponsored by UC ANR's California Institute for Water Resources and the University of California Water Security and Sustainability Research Initiative, UC Water.

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Ohio Farm Incomes Expected to Dip Again Next Year

Ohio agricultural economy experts predict another gut punch for farmers next year.

Unfortunately for the state’s 75,000 farmers, a gaggle of economists, professors and others from Ohio State University’s pool of experts gathered at this year’s Agriculture and Policy Outlook Forum on Friday said that 2018 was bad and that 2019 is looking like more of the same.

“We need to change the question of how low will farm incomes go down, to how long will the downturn last,” said Ani Katchova, an associate professor at Ohio State and a farm income expert. “It looks like it will be several more years.”

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Corn to Be King Again In the U.S., USDA Report Shows

American farmers will make corn king again as the most widely planted U.S. crop in 2019, expanding corn acreage by 3% while slashing soybean area by 7% due to a trade war that has driven down market prices and ballooned soy stocks, said the USDA on Friday. Wheat sowings would rise by 7%, according to USDA's baseline projections.

With normal weather and yields, USDA's projected corn plantings of 92 million acres would bring a crop of 14.93 billion bushels, the second-largest ever, and soybean plantings of 82.5 million acres would result in a crop of 4.09 billion bushels, 600 million bushels less than this year's record-setting crop but still the fourth-largest on record. The wheat crop, sown on 51 million acres, would total 2.06 billion bushels.

Corn prices are strengthening, suggesting it will be more remunerative than soybeans, where prices are expected to improve marginally for the 2019 crop, said USDA.

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Perdue: Patience Needed in Trade Talks

To farmers and ranchers affected by President Donald Trump’s trade policy, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is preaching patience.

In a conversation with reporters following a lecture at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, on November 1, Perdue reiterated President Trump’s claim that playing the long game – waiting out while negotiators hammer out solutions to trade disputes – will pay off for the agriculture community.

According to Perdue, farmers tend to support President Trump’s trade agenda, which focuses on fair trade with current partners coupled with expanding markets to new nations to spread risk, rather than catering to China. The President believes China does not trade fairly.

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Congratulations to The Farm Manager of the Year

Richard Isaacson, AFM, ARA was awarded the 2018 ASFMRA Farm Manager of the Year.  You can find out more about Richard and see how he is helping his clients.

Meet Richard
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