USDA s March 1 (2024) Prospective Planting and quarterly Grain Stocks reports threw a bullish curveball to traders with corn planting intentions much lower than trade expectations at just 90 million acres and 4.6 ma below that of a year ago. Soybean planting was about as traders had expected, and wheat was just a bit lower, but winter wheat acres were forecast to fall over 1 million acres below the average estimate, sending both Chicago and Kansas City wheat futures to solid gains.
A federal judge in Illinois ruled an antitrust case filed against John Deere by more than 17 farmers across the country will continue. The court denied a motion filed by the company that would have ended the lawsuits that allege Deere violated the Sherman Act.
Farmers could lock in a crop insurance guarantee above $5 per bushel for their 2024 corn crop using margin protection insurance, which pays when there s an unexpected decrease in operating margin and offers up to 95% coverage. But they need to act fast.
The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden signed into law will make the economy more competitive for decades to come. It was a bipartisan victory as much as Biden s.
The continuing resolution passed into law Thursday includes provisions to help farmers with an array of disasters that hit agriculture over the past two years.