Collected Publications for October 2012 • farmdoc daily

Still More on Position Limits, Excessive Speculation and the Dodd-Frank Act

October 31, 2012
Paul E. Peterson

Two recent farmdoc Daily posts discussed the history of position limits and reviewed the CFTC's recently-overturned position limit rules, respectively. Today's post is the last in this series, and will…

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Weekly Farm Economics

Current Fertilizer Prices, Natural Gas, and Longer-Run Supply

October 30, 2012
Gary Schnitkey

According to the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the average anhydrous ammonia price in Illinois currently is $853 per ton, an increase over the $815 per ton price at the beginning…

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Weekly Outlook

Monitoring Corn Consumption

October 29, 2012
Darrel Good

The price of corn, like the price of other commodities, is influenced by a wide array of factors that reflect a combination of current and expected supply and consumption. The…

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Farms and the New 2013 Medicare Tax Increases

October 26, 2012
Marc Lovell

The new health care law passed by Congress in 2010 has been gradually phasing in health care reform measures each year since its enactment. Two Medicare tax increases are part…

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Wheat Feeding

October 25, 2012
Carl Zulauf and Nick Rettig

In its October World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) increased the estimated feeding of wheat during the current 2012/13 wheat crop year by…

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More on Position Limits, Excessive Speculation and the Dodd-Frank Act

October 24, 2012
Paul E. Peterson

A previous farmdoc Daily post discussed the history and operation of position limits - the maximum number of futures contacts that can be owned or controlled by an individual or…

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Weekly Farm Economics

Landowner and Farmer Returns under Share Rental Arrangements with Differing Prices

October 23, 2012
Gary Schnitkey

Operator and farmland returns, which represent the amount that can be split between the landowner and farmer, vary considerably with corn and soybean prices that are likely to occur over…

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Weekly Outlook

Cattle Prices Will Continue to Rise

October 22, 2012
Chris Hurt

The impacts of the 2012 drought continue to play out in a beef industry discouraged by high feed prices and large cattle feeding losses. In the latest Cattle On Feed…

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The Increasing Waistline of the Deferred Tax Monster

October 19, 2012
Bradley L. Zwilling and Dwight D. Raab

Agricultural producers are allowed to use the cash method of accounting for calculating income for federal and state tax purposes. This causes inevitable and numerous differences between taxable farm income…

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Cash Rents and Crop Revenues in Illinois

October 18, 2012
Nick Paulson

Tis' the season for negotiating land rental agreements for the 2013 crop year. Recent posts have discussed trends in rental agreements and relative performance of share/flex and fixed cash rent…

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farmdoc daily Gets Social (Media)

October 18, 2012
Scott Irwin

The goal of the farmdoc Project has not changed since its inception in 1999 to provide crop and livestock producers in the U.S. Corn Belt with round-the-clock access to integrated…

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Position Limits, Excessive Speculation and the Dodd-Frank Act

October 17, 2012
Paul E. Peterson

Commodity position limits - the maximum number of futures contacts that can be owned or controlled by an individual or entity - have been in the news since Judge Robert…

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Weekly Farm Economics

Cash Rents Given Differing Price Levels

October 16, 2012
Gary Schnitkey

Corn and soybean prices have been high in recent years, leading to high farmland returns and increasing cash rents. In the following article, the ability to pay cash rent is…

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Weekly Outlook

Beyond the October Production Forecasts for Corn and Soybeans

October 15, 2012
Darrel Good

Listen to MP3 podcast At 10.706 billion bushels, the USDA's October forecast of the U.S. corn crop was about 100 million bushels larger than the average trade guess and about…

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Relative Importance of Price vs. Yield variability in Crop Revenue Risk

October 12, 2012
Bruce J. Sherrick

Managing crop revenue risk is of critical importance for financial success by agricultural producers and a central theme of many government commodity and insurance programs. Debate surrounding the farm bill…

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Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine (KRU) and World Grain Markets

October 11, 2012
Carl Zulauf

A major change in world grain markets over the last quarter century is the increasing role of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine (KRU). This change is examined in this…

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Weekly Farm Economics

Harvest Prices and Insurance Payments

October 9, 2012
Gary Schnitkey

Crop insurance harvest prices for corn and soybean in the Midwest are determined during October. Most farmers insured using either Revenue Protection (RP) or Group Risk Income Plan with the…

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Weekly Outlook

Corn and Soybean Prices Searching for Support

October 8, 2012
Darrel Good

Listen to MP3 podcast December 2012 corn futures declined by $1.44 (17 percent) from the high on August 10 to the recent low on September 28. That contract has managed…

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How Green Economy Metrics Have Failed the Renewable Fuel Standard

October 5, 2012
Jody M. Endres and Daniel Szewczyk

Emerging renewable energy policies such as the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the E.U. Renewable Energy Directive (RED), and the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) require increasing amounts of…

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Rental Rates for Share, Flex, and Cash Rent Agreements in Illinois

October 4, 2012
Nick Paulson

The rapid rise in commodity prices and farm income levels over the past few years has resulted in significant increases in cash rent levels for farm land. Last fall, I…

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How Bad Was the 2012 Corn and Soybean Growing Season?

October 3, 2012
Scott Irwin and Darrel Good

Prior to 2012, the most adverse growing season weather conditions for U.S. corn and soybeans in recent history occurred in 1988. Now that the 2012 season is over, it is…

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Weekly Farm Economics

Trends in Cash Rent Leasing Terms

October 2, 2012
Gary Schnitkey

As noted in a previous farmdoc Daily article, cash rent levels have been rising in recent years, with large increases occurring between 2011 and 2012, and more modest increases projected…

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Weekly Outlook

Large Losses Still Loom for Pork Industry

October 1, 2012
Chris Hurt

Pork producers are expected to continue to suffer very large losses in the next six months after already operating in the red for the last six months. These large losses…

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