Economy and Trade

On Monday, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden met with a local farmer, student and nonprofit organizer in Bend discussing his new effort to reduce fuel prices.  Last week, Wyden unveiled his “Taxing Big Oil Profiteers Act”, and he said it sends a message.   “For ex...

According to the Association of Equipment Manufactures, American and Canadian ag tractor monthly unit sales fell in July, while combine sales grew in the U.S.  Total U.S. farm tractor sales fell 21% last month when compared to July 2021, while combine sales for the month grew 9.2%.  That’...

Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy reports the country exported 2.66 million metric tons of grains and oilseeds in July 2022, 22.7% more than June.  Exports of wheat increased more than three times in July to about 412,000 tons compared to 138,400 tons that were shipped for export in June.  At...

It’s a trend many consumers, and many motorists have enjoyed as of recent; oil prices moving lower.  In fact, for the past nine weeks, the price for a barrel of West Texas Crude has dropped to $88 in Monday's trade, an over 4% drop from Sunday's numbers.   W...

New data released by ERS shows the growth in the number of farmers markets is slowing.  From 1994 to 2019, the number of farmers markets rose from 1,755 to 8,771 nationwide, averaging growth of nearly 7% each year.  Expansion began to slow in 2011 before eventually falling below a 1% per year increase between 2016 and 2017.  Since t...

Some Canadian farmers have joined in solidarity with their farm counterparts in the Netherlands over government targets to reduce nitrogen emissions.  Last week, several provincial capital cities, as well as Ottawa, saw slow-rolling tractor convoys.  Al...

There are a lot of things you can say about high commodity prices.  They make export values look really good, but sometimes those high prices can reduce the actual amount of product that overseas buyers are willing, or able to buy from American producers.  Th...

Year-over-year consumer inflation in July was 8.5%, down from the 9.1% we saw in June.  The month-over-month inflation was 0%, though that was largely the result of a 4.6% drop in energy prices.  Food prices reported a nearly 11% year over year increase in July, with a 1% month-over-month jump.   ...

In 2020, U.S. farms sold almost $10.7 billion of food commodities directly to consumer outlets and supply chains.  That figure from the USDA includes restaurants, grocery stores, regional distributors and local institutions.  The figure is nearly $2.8 billion...

On Tuesday, we told you that farm real estate value increased across the Pacific Northwest.  It looks like the PNW was not alone in the trend higher.  The value of cropland across the United States increased 14% year-over-year.  That translates to a jump of $630 per acre from 2021 to 2022. USDA chief...