Farmland Values Increase 25% For Second Consecutive Year [View article]
Not as much fund investment as one would think. The majority of buyers, 74% according to Iowa State, are farmers. That number has increased from 2010 to 2011 while the percentage of buyers who are investors shrunk.
That's a great question. In our recent observations of farmland purchasers across the Corn Belt, the primary buyers are farmers. Iowa State recently found that the percentage of farmland buyers who are farmers increased from 70% to 74% this year while investors have decreased as a percentage.
Western ND is certainly a different region than most of the Corn Belt as the Bakken shale is present along with much less annual precipitation. Much of the farmland purchases that are driving prices higher have zero connection to RE speculation, rec land, oil or other factors outside of farming.
I'm glad you enjoy our monthly report. We will be starting our crop progress reports within the next couple months as well. The March 30th USDA Report will dictate the markets until planting season.
Crop Progress: Corn And Soybean Conditions Decrease [View article]
Mr. Tweed - Growing up my parent's farmer always said that in every 10 years, you'll have 2 great ones, 2 bad ones, and 6 average ones. The great ones get you through those bad years. Farmers are due for a good weather year here before long.
The USDA Report should be interesting. At this stage in the year, I could see things going either way. I don't imagine the USDA likes having commodity prices sitting as high as they currently are, but it's hard for them to adjust anything in the weekly crop progress reports when the corn crop is actually getting worse. On the 12th, I could see average yield decreasing, but somehow demand decreasing to help partially offset it. If one thing is for certain, you never know what could come out of a WASDE.
Crop Progress: Corn Silking Slowly Continues, Soybean Conditions Better Than Last Year [View article]
I agree tweedn. The weather has been very unpredictable. Some areas have flooding and 100 miles away they are dry. If the U.S. can hit the 158.7 bushels per acre yield mark from USDA, I have a feeling there will be a lot of variance. In the upper Midwest here, some corn fields look the best we have ever seen while others look rough.
Rural Economy Continues to Improve, But Flooding Constrains Growth [View article]
I agree. Just yesterday we got pounded here in the Midwest with storms. Tornado sirens were going off all afternoon here in MN. I'm sure there was hail damage in some areas as well.
Corn Planting Progress at 40%, Still Behind Schedule [View article]
That's very interesting about the amount of wheat being planted. The high here today in Minneapolis is in the upper 80s which could bring some severe storms tonight and into tomorrow. The weather is awfully unpredictable in the Corn Belt and I have a feeling the markets will be tied to the weather forecasts for a while now.
Crop Progress: Alarming 87% of Corn Crop Yet to Be Planted [View article]
Any ag stocks or ETFs could work from DE to JJG or CORN, although we believe that farmland is the underlying beneficiary of the entire ag boom. I recommend you have a look at our website: colvin-co.com.
Playing the commodities themselves through futures or ETFs is one possibility although the commodity markets have been very volatile lately. It will be difficult for the corn market to stay this high, especially as farmers are planting a lot of acres this week to battle the USDA reports. The long-term outlook for agriculture is very bullish though.
Agriculture Update: Crop Planting Delays and Winter Wheat Conditions Deteriorate Further [View article]
The weather outlook is very wet and if corn doesn't start getting planted within the next week or two, expect very high drying costs for farmers come harvest.
It is interesting to see how these recent weather patterns have hit the Corn Belt hard, and then completely missed a lot of the southern wheat ground.
Natural Disaster and USDA Reports Weigh on Grain Markets [View article]
Ben - There were additional grain purchases during that time and at least one large purchase was kept anonymous, but experts had a feeling it was China.
tweedn - The U.S. is indeed the backstop of the world food supply and the next few months should be a very interesting time. Corn closed just 5 cents off of the 2008 high yesterday.
Acreage Reports and Political Unrest Affecting Grain Markets [View article]
I'm glad the garden is coming along well so far tweedn. It's only a matter of time before farmers start to plant corn, soybeans, and wheat here in the Corn Belt.
Prazan, farmer income is set to rise 20% in 2011 and the key compenents that farmers will be reinvesting in will be farmland and machinery. I believe many new machines have already been purchased, but a lot of that income will come in this fall. Farmers have most likely sold a lot of their 2011 crop, but in Dec contracts. Machinery is used at different times of the year so we expect all ag machinery companies to benefit from rising farmer income for a while. DE, CNH, and AGCO are some of the bigger companies that I expect will see increased sales due to the rise in farmer income.
This is a great article Mr. Chaudhry. I agree that China is set to become a big consumer in the corn markets soon. I wrote an article that goes right along with yours.
It's amazing to think that China is continuing to consume more and more meat which multiplies grain demand by 7-10 times. Of each new dollar earned in China, 40% is allocated to food.
Farmland Values Increase 25% For Second Consecutive Year [View article]
Crop Progress: Corn Condition Well Above Average [View article]
Rural Economy Slows In April [View article]
Western ND is certainly a different region than most of the Corn Belt as the Bakken shale is present along with much less annual precipitation. Much of the farmland purchases that are driving prices higher have zero connection to RE speculation, rec land, oil or other factors outside of farming.
I hope that helps answer your question.
Soybeans Rally To 5 Month High [View article]
Crop Progress: Corn Harvest on Schedule [View instapost]
Crop Progress: Corn And Soybean Conditions Decrease [View article]
The USDA Report should be interesting. At this stage in the year, I could see things going either way. I don't imagine the USDA likes having commodity prices sitting as high as they currently are, but it's hard for them to adjust anything in the weekly crop progress reports when the corn crop is actually getting worse. On the 12th, I could see average yield decreasing, but somehow demand decreasing to help partially offset it. If one thing is for certain, you never know what could come out of a WASDE.
Crop Progress: Corn Silking Slowly Continues, Soybean Conditions Better Than Last Year [View article]
Rural Economy Continues to Improve, But Flooding Constrains Growth [View article]
Corn Planting Progress at 40%, Still Behind Schedule [View article]
Crop Progress: Alarming 87% of Corn Crop Yet to Be Planted [View article]
Playing the commodities themselves through futures or ETFs is one possibility although the commodity markets have been very volatile lately. It will be difficult for the corn market to stay this high, especially as farmers are planting a lot of acres this week to battle the USDA reports. The long-term outlook for agriculture is very bullish though.
Agriculture Update: Crop Planting Delays and Winter Wheat Conditions Deteriorate Further [View article]
It is interesting to see how these recent weather patterns have hit the Corn Belt hard, and then completely missed a lot of the southern wheat ground.
Natural Disaster and USDA Reports Weigh on Grain Markets [View article]
tweedn - The U.S. is indeed the backstop of the world food supply and the next few months should be a very interesting time. Corn closed just 5 cents off of the 2008 high yesterday.
Acreage Reports and Political Unrest Affecting Grain Markets [View article]
Prazan, farmer income is set to rise 20% in 2011 and the key compenents that farmers will be reinvesting in will be farmland and machinery. I believe many new machines have already been purchased, but a lot of that income will come in this fall. Farmers have most likely sold a lot of their 2011 crop, but in Dec contracts. Machinery is used at different times of the year so we expect all ag machinery companies to benefit from rising farmer income for a while. DE, CNH, and AGCO are some of the bigger companies that I expect will see increased sales due to the rise in farmer income.
Corn Price Momentum May Keep Going [View article]
Corn Price Momentum May Keep Going [View article]
It's amazing to think that China is continuing to consume more and more meat which multiplies grain demand by 7-10 times. Of each new dollar earned in China, 40% is allocated to food.