Idaho Potato Farming
Potato Prices for Idaho Farmers are Up, But So are Input Costs
Russet potato prices for Idaho farmers typically drop significantly from August to October but that didn’t happen this year, Ben Eborn, president of North American Potato Market News, said during a University of Idaho Ag Outlook Seminar presentation Dec. 16.
Idaho Russet prices dropped $8 per hundredweight from August to October in 2019, $12 per cwt during that period in 2020, but only $3 per cwt during that same time in 2021.
“That’s the lowest drop in decades,” Eborn said. “Prices are extremely strong and not behaving like they normally have in the past.”
Idaho is the nation’s top potato-producing state and Gem State farmers produce about a third of the nation’s total spud supply.
The price increase is partly due to Idaho producing a smaller spud crop in 2021 compared with 2020. Idaho farmers planted 315,000 acres of potatoes in 2021, compared with 300,000 in 2020, but total statewide production decreased 2 percent in 2021 to 132 million hundredweight.
……“Globally, there is a (potato) supply situation that is rather tight,” Eborn said.
That has driven farm-level potato prices up. But cost of production for spud farmers is also soaring.
“Operating costs for most growers are probably up 20 percent, minimum, and maybe as much as 30 percent,” Eborn said.
Rising costs add tremendous risk to farmers, he said. “How do you plan when those prices jump like that in a year?”
That could present Idaho potato farmers with some tough choices when it comes to deciding what to plant in 2022, Eborn said.
Yes, potato prices are extremely strong compared to where they were a year ago and that could encourage potato growers to plant more spuds, he said.
But potatoes cost a lot to grow compared with many other crops grown on a large scale in Idaho and the price for some of those crops is way up. For example, wheat prices are up 61 percent compared to a year ago.
Prices for barley, hay and corn are also up.
“There is still a lot of uncertainly in the potato market, and other ag markets as well,” Eborn said. “It makes decision making difficult for the coming year.”
Arkansas Rice Farming
Rice Farmers Face Turbulent 2022
https://talkbusiness.net/2022/02/rice-farmers-face-turbulent-2022/
…..Arkansas remains the top rice producing state in the country. About 48% of the rice grown on U.S. soil comes from the Natural State. It’s a $1.3 billion industry each year. Rice is the second largest export crop for the state with a value of $742 million. There are an estimated 1,800 rice farms in Arkansas and the crop is grown in 40 counties, he added.
She noted the Joe Biden administration has tried to focus on climate change policies that will impact the way farmers are able to grow crops. Ward said there has been no cohesive attempt to open trade markets around the world, especially in China.
Hutchinson said he talked to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack last week and he offered no specifics on how the Biden administration plans to open global markets for U.S. agricultural exports such as rice. China agreed almost two years ago to buy billions of dollar’s worth of U.S. agricultural products and that promise has not been kept, he said.
The Chinese not adhering to previous commitments is a problem, but another problem has emerged on the world stage, Ward said. India is now the world’s largest rice exporter. It sends out 20 million metric tons of rice each year, which is 40% of the international rice market, she said.
Farmers in India can produce rice cheaply due to a number of factors, Ward said. The first is that the Indian government guarantees high prices, and then covers all input costs for farmers. They essentially only operate within their own profit margins, she said.
