Ag News Roundup: October 2014

World Food Day on October 16 focused much attention on the role of the 500 million family farmers in feeding and providing food security to the world’s population.  One report revealed that 80 percent of the world’s food is raised by family farmers. In a related announcement, the USDA stated that it will be changing its lending policy – expanding eligibility and increasing lending limits - to help more beginning and family farmers.

In other ag news:

Global Agriculture

• Turkey launches probe of U.S. cotton imports – Reuters US News
• Record harvests are not pushing up export sales – Drovers CattleNetwork
• Exports Sent Soybeans Soaring Up 30 Cents – Agriculture.com
• Sugar growers praise Mexico agreement; users express concern – Agweek

Land Values and Ag Economy

• Despite lower crop prices, survey shows land prices up in 2014 – Drovers CattleNetwork
• Low Crop Margins? Learn From 1990s Innovation – Agriculture.com
• Linking agricultural land to use values and amenities – Drovers CattleNetwork
• Development reduces available farmland – AgriNews
• 5 Big Farmland Leasing Misconceptions – Agriculture.com

Farming Practices

• Precision Farming Market Worth $4.55 Billion by 2020 – Yahoo! Finance
• Helping Farmers Invest in Technology – Agriculture.com
• New drone regulations to be released in Nov. – Drovers CattleNetwork
• Survey: Farmers Using More Tools to Market Commodities – Agriculture.com
• This New Method of Farming Could Change Where Our Food Comes From – Time Magazine
• New USDA Report Outlines Opportunities in the Emerging Bioeconomy – Agri Marketing

Policy

• Farmers May Reap Subsidy Boom on Record Crops Thanks to Congress - Washington Post – Bloomberg
• USDA Discloses Subsidies on Whole Farm Insurance – Agriculture.com
• Wheat farmers ask USDA to implement insurance fix – Yahoo! News
• Group aims to put food policy on the kitchen table – Yahoo! Finance
• California diverts water from farmers to wildlife refuges – Fox News
• State cattlemen’s groups to USDA: Hands off the checkoff – Drovers CattleNetwork

Farm Credit In the News

• The NCB Co-op 100 Reports Top Producing Cooperatives with Revenues of $234.5 Billion – NewsWest 9
• Moody's assigns Agribank Aa3 issuer rating; affirms ratings of Federal Farm Credit Banks and Farm Credit Bank of Texas – Moody's
• GreenStone Farm Credit Services Featured in TV Segment – Michigan Ag Connection
• CoBank to receive $250M loan guarantee for rural electric infrastructure – Denver Business Blogs - Denver Business Journal
• With a History of Nearly a Century of Ag Lending, Farm Credit Continues Tradition at 2014 Sunbelt Ag Expo– PR.com
• Gladstone Land Announces Additional Borrowings With Farm Credit– GlobeNewswire