Agriculture Shorts

‍Bloomberg reported Cargill Inc.’s fiscal first-quarter earnings fell by more than half as the company was pressured by higher costs for cattle and cocoa despite benefiting from stronger results in soybeans . . . The Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer fell from 135 in August to 123 in September. A record 52% of producers cited higher input costs as their biggest concern, while 54% said high input costs were the main thing limiting improvement in their farm's financial situation . . . Kansas State University agricultural economist Greg Ibendahl estimated President Trump’s executive order to defer taxes on diesel fuel is worth roughly $100 to a Kansas grain farmer over the life of the order. About half of the $100 is grain hauling. The rest are farm pickups and service trucks . . . The U.S. Meat Export Federation said that for January through August, beef exports were down 7% year-over-year in volume (721,150 mt) and 1% lower in value ($6.32 billion). The decline is largely attributable to lower exports to China. Pork exports were 1% higher than a year ago at 1.95 million mt, while value was steady at $5.47 billion . . . The Federal Trade Commission and USDA have launched a probe into potential anticompetitive practices in the agricultural equipment markets in response to the “growing number of complaints” received by USDA that “farmers across the country face other barriers” to acquiring equipment.

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