The latest Net Farm Income Report shows a 23 percent drop in net farm income compared to 2022. Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, says farms losing a quarter of their income isn’t economically sustainable.

Duvall says, “I’d like asked how many people, how many households, could withstand losing a quarter of their income in two years? It isn’t just an economic hiccup for our farms, it’s evidence of an agricultural downturn. I’ve heard from all our farmers and ranchers across the country that they are struggling. The latest census showed that we lost more than 140,000 farms in the last five years.”

Duvall says there are a number of factors contributing to the downturn. He says, “Farmers and ranchers are facing inflation just like every other American family, but we’ve also got a great deal of severe weather around plummeting crop prices, and constant changes in regulatory requirements. Our labor, interest expense, and property taxes are at a record level. On top of all that, our farm safety net that was designed to help our farms manage risk is so outdated that in many cases, it won’t even trigger to help family farms face the drop in income.

The Net Farm Income Report emphasizes that American farmers and ranchers need a new farm bill. Duvall says, “Congress has been kicking the can down the road when it comes to farm bill, but our farmers need help, and they need it now. It’s been more than 100 days since the House Agriculture Committee passed out a good bipartisan farm bill and yet there hasn’t been any additional action in either chamber. We need Congress to do their job, put politics aside as they have in the past, and get the work done. We need a new modernized Farm Bill.”

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Exports of U.S. beef continued to build momentum in July, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Pork exports were also well above year-ago levels in July, led by a value record for shipments to Mexico.

Key Asian markets and Mexico fuel strong month for beef exports

July beef exports totaled 110,419 metric tons (mt), up 7% from a year ago and the second largest of 2024. Export value climbed 12% to $910.9 million, also the second highest this year. July growth was fueled primarily by strengthening demand in Japan, Taiwan, Mexico and the Middle East and ASEAN regions.

For January through July, beef export value increased 6% from a year ago to $6.13 billion, despite a 2% decline in volume (754,152 mt).

“It is very gratifying to see demand for U.S. beef trending upward in Asian markets, with Japan and Taiwan leading the way and an outstanding showing in the ASEAN region,” said USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom. “U.S. beef has weathered severe headwinds in Asia and especially in Japan, but the outlook for the remainder of the year is encouraging. July was also another impressive month for Mexico, which continues to display excellent demand for an expanding range of U.S. beef cuts and variety meats.”

Record value for Mexico headlines robust month for pork exports

Pork exports reached 241,210 mt in July, up 10% from a year ago. Export value jumped 13% to $710.5 million, fueled in part by a record $244.5 million for leading market Mexico. July exports also trended substantially higher year-over-year in most Latin American markets and in South Korea.

Through the first seven months of 2024, pork exports were 4% above last year at 1.76 million mt. Export value was just under $5 billion – up 6% from a year ago, when pork exports set an annual value record of $8.16 billion.

“Mexico was definitely the pacesetter for U.S. pork again in July, but demand was also outstanding in Central America, Colombia and the Caribbean,” Halstrom said. “Pork exports to Korea also continued to perform well in what is shaping up to be a record year.”

July lamb exports increase in value despite lower volume

July exports of U.S. lamb totaled 173 mt, down 12% from a year ago, but still achieved a 13% increase in value to $1.05 million. For January through July, lamb exports climbed 9% in volume (1,658 mt) and 18% in value ($9.1 million), with shipments trending higher to the Caribbean, Mexico, the Philippines and Canada.

A detailed summary of the January-July export results for U.S. beef, pork and lamb, including market-specific highlights, is available from the USMEF website.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $7.3 billion in financing for rural electric cooperatives to build clean energy for rural communities through the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program.

Speaking in Wisconsin, Vilsack said the 16 initiatives announced Thursday will leverage private investments of more than $29 billion to build more than 10 gigawatts of clean energy for rural communities across the country. He added the programs will collectively reduce and avoid at least 43.7 million tons of greenhouse gases annually.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, we are supporting a more prosperous future for rural communities by speeding up the transition to clean energy while at the same time keeping monthly bills low and investing in the American workforce with new jobs and apprenticeships,” said Secretary Vilsack. “One in five rural Americans will benefit from these clean energy investments, thanks to partnerships with rural electric cooperatives like Dairyland. Put simply, this is rural power, for rural America.”

The farm economy continues to falter according to ag economists, but at least one ag senator sees a silver lining. Iowa’s Chuck Grassley is one of just two farmers in the US Senate and agrees with many ag economists, the farm economy is on the brink of, or already in a recession.

He says, “The only good news in an Ag recession is, it’s not a depression.”

The Ag Economist’s August Monthly Monitor by the University of Missouri found more than half of 70 economists surveyed said the farm economy is now in a recession. Corn prices are at a four-year low, USDA forecasts record drops in net farm income of nearly $40 billion this year, $30 billion last year…and there’s still no farm bill.

But Grassley says there is one ‘silver lining’; “Recent years, 75-percent of the land has been paid for, unlike in the 1980s when we had an agricultural depression…only 25-percent of the land was paid for.” And Grassley says that was a time of foreclosures and human tragedy with “suicides by American farmers…people right here in the neighborhood of New Hartford, Iowa, where I’ve lived for 90-years.”

Grassley says it’s sad that farmers get just two good years out of every six or seven, but adds they’ve “wised up” since the ‘80s. He says in part, “that you’ve got to preserve money for a rainy day. Those rainy days are on us.”

Story by Matt Kaye/Berns Bureau; courtesy of NAFB News Service

Abnormally dry or drought conditions are present across 73% of the Basin, with drought conditions likely to persist or worsen through November.

“August rainfall was generally near normal across most of the Missouri River Basin, with isolated areas of above normal precipitation in every state except Nebraska,” says said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “Nebraska was generally below average with most of northern Nebraska measuring 50% of normal precipitation.”

Runoff in the Fort Peck and Fort Peck to Garrison reaches were well-below average while runoff in the reaches between Garrison Dam and Sioux City were all above average. As of Sept. 1, the total volume of water stored in the System was 55.1 MAF, which is 1.0 MAF below the base of the System’s flood control zone. System storage is expected to continue to decline through the fall.

A report released this week by the president of the European Union suggests that “the EU should undertake a major overhaul of its Common Agricultural Policy to subsidize farmers based on their income rather than the size of their farms.”

The report also urged consumers to eat less meat. The report states that Europeans eat more animal protein than scientists recommend and says support is needed for consumers to “rebalance” diets toward plant-based proteins. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen commissioned the report and said the results would feed into a planned vision for agriculture that she will present in the first 100 days of her new mandate.

“We share the same goal,” said Von der Leyen. “Only if farmers can live off their land will they invest in more sustainable practices. And only if we achieve our climate and environmental goals together will farmers be able to continue making a living.”

House Republicans may try to attach several bills to a must-pass funding measure needed by month’s end to avert a government shutdown. Among those is a ban on foreign adversaries owning U.S. farmland.

The ban on China and other foreign adversaries owning U.S. farmland, especially near sensitive military sites, is one of several riders that could come up on must-pass funding legislation. A farm bill extension is another. Washington State Republican Dan Newhouse introduced the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act. Speaking earlier, he said “This is about our country’s national security in ensuring that adversaries like China, like Russia, like North Korea or Iran, do not gain a foothold on American soil.”

Newhouse would also ensure a continued seat at the table for USDA’s Secretary on the Treasury-led panel that oversees such buys. China is of special concern. Newhouse says, “The People’s Republic of China is only interested in reaping every possible benefit from U.S. land, without giving back or considering our future to sustain an independent energy and food production. The U.S. cannot become dependent on our adversaries for our domestic food supply.”

Newhouse sits on the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, chaired by Michigan’s John Moolenaar, who opposes a Chinese EV battery firm’s land buy in that state. Moolenaar said earlier that “Gotion is a Chinese-based company that is buying farmland. It is a hundred miles from a National Guard location where a lot of training is done.”

China is thought to own just a few hundred thousand acres of U.S. farmland, but its closeness to U.S. military facilities has set off alarm bells in recent months.

Story by Matt Kaye/Berns Bureau; courtesy of NAFB News Service

China’s Ministry of Commerce will initiate an anti-dumping investigation into canola seed imports from Canada. This investigation is part of China’s response to Canada’s decision to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel, and aluminum.

“China is a valued market for Canadian canola,” says Chris Davison, Canola Council of Canada’s president and CEO. “We are confident that an investigation into Canada’s canola trade with China will demonstrate alignment with and reinforce our support for rules-based trade.”

The Canola Council is waiting for further details on the investigation and will work closely with the federal government on this situation. “Working to maintain open and predictable trade for canola is a top priority for the CCC,” Davis adds. “We will continue to engage on this issue to support market access and competitiveness for Canadian canola in this key market.”

The Canola Council of Canada represents the entire value chain in the canola-growing process.

More than 400 cases of salmonella across the country have been linked to backyard poultry. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported over 100 people have been hospitalized. Texas and Missouri have the most cases, followed by Minnesota, Washington, Michigan, and Oklahoma.

Almost 70 percent of those who’ve gotten sick say they had contact with backyard poultry. Backyard poultry like chickens and ducks can carry Salmonella germs even if they look healthy and clean. You can get sick from touching your backyard poultry or anything in their environment and then touching your mouth or food, thereby swallowing Salmonella germs. Always wash your hands with soap and water immediately after touching backyard poultry, their eggs, or anything in the area.

Keep your backyard poultry and the supplies you use to care for them outside of the house. Always supervise children around poultry and make sure they wash their hands afterward.