Rabail Chandio was featured in the January 2024 edition of Chicago Fed Insights in their article "Farmers Still the Primary Owners of Farmland, Midwest Ag Conference Attendees Are Told," which you can read in full here.
Associate Professor Alejandro Plastina and Iowa State Farm Management Specialist Kelvin Leibold have released two new farm decision tools on the Iowa State University Ag Decision Maker website.
Associate Professor Lee Schulz spoke with Iowa Farmer Today for the story "Livestock Outlook: Livestock markets face mixed demand," which examines the multitude of factors that will affect livestock markets in 2024. Speaking about cattle markets, Schulz said "Cow-calf producers made some good money in 2023 so they may be looking to expand. The Western U.S. has seen better conditions, and it’s still very dry in much of the Midwest. That will likely temper expansion plans for many."
Associate Professor Lee Schulz was interviewed by Farm Journal for the story "USDA Hogs and Pigs Report: Is This a Defining Moment for the Pork Industry?" The article examines the implications of the December USDA Hogs and Pigs report. Schulz said that "Defining moments are often thought of as moments of truth, but in the throes of it, they’re usually a moment of uncertainty, not clarity. But, maybe now we’re starting to see some things come into focus in marketplace as we begin to see larger supply adjustments."
Professor Chad Hart was spoke with Brownfield Ag News for the story "Soybeans with momentum going into 2024," which focuses on farmers shifting crop acreage from corn to soybeans. Hart indicated that the future's market is preparing for farmers to plant more soybeans, as is USDA in their crop projections, and that Iowa farmers he has spoken to have expressed their intent to grow more soybeans in 2024. Also appears in: https://siouxcountyradio.com/brownfield-ag/soybeans-with-momentum-going-into-2024/
Professor Chad Hart was interviewed by Western Iowa Today for the story "Iowa State Economist Sees Land Values Pulling Back in 2024," which focuses on the slow down in land value growth shown in the 2023 Iowa Land Value Survey. Hart told Western Iowa Today that "[Land value is] still growing, but it's slowing down dramatically," and that he expects land values to pull back in 2024.
Professor Chad Hart was interviewed by Missouri Farmer Today for the article "Crop Outlook: Exports key over the next 18 months." The story examines what crop margins may look like for farmers in 2024. Hart said "It’s an interesting time, as we’re looking out there I call it an adjustment sort of back to where profit margins usually are when we’re looking at agriculture."
Professor Chad Hart spoke with Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network for the article "Less optimistic 2024 ag economy outlook still contains silver linings," which examines the outlook for the US ag economy in 2024. Hart said "The idea is, I’m going to describe it as we’re returning to normal. When you think back to 2020, 2021, and 2022, we had some very strong years for the farm economy. And the idea is we couldn’t expect that to continue. We’ve seen our prices decline, we’re seeing things tighten up as far as profit margins are concerned, but for most commodities, I would argue we’re around breakeven, which I would argue is around normal."
Associate Professor Lee Schulz was interviewed by Farm Journal for the story "Good News for the U.S. Pork Industry: It Can’t Be Worse in 2024." The article focuses on the outlook for pork producers in 2024. Schulz told Farm Journal "Remember, the point of maximum financial opportunity is at a market bottom, when prices (or profits) are lowest. The point of maximum financial risk is at the market peak, when prices (or profits) are highest."
Professor Chad Hart was interviewed by The Gazette for the article "How much did extreme weather cost Iowa in 2023?" which focuses on how extreme weather affected Iowa in 2023. Hart said "Tools like crop insurance are definitely capturing the impact as our climate is changing. [Planting dates are] being adjusted to reflect the changing climatic conditions that's around agriculture right now."
Professor Chad Hart was interviewed by ETF Trends for the article "Demand for Biofuels Could Boost Soybean Prices in 2024," which examines how the biofuels market could affect commodity prices in the near future. Hart said that "I would say the futures market is preparing for [US farmers to plant more soybeans], USDA and their projections. And every time I talk to farmers is that’s been the deal (to plant more soybeans).”
Associate Professor Lee Schulz was interviewed by Quartz for the story "US pork producers in 2023 are looking at their least profitable year on record." The article examines the effects of a recent dip in US pork sales. Schulz told Quartz that “Profitability as we look at 2023 and 2024 is going to be potentially the worst two-year stretch ever for pork producers."
Professor Chad Hart spoke with Mid-West Farm Report for the article "'The Challenge Is Demand' In 2024," which focuses on the challenges farmers may face when marketing crops in 2024. Hart said that "The challenge is demand. It’s trying to figure out how we’re going to utilize all of this corn throughout not only the nation, but the world. We tend to feed a lot, but we’ve seen some shrinkage in our cattle herd. When we look at the ethanol picture, well, that’s been hit and miss over the last few years. And the last piece tends to be our international markets, that’s where we’ve seen the biggest pull back."
