Economic policy’s impact on the farm economy to be featured at SW MN Ag Lenders Conference

The 36th annual Southwest Minnesota Ag Lenders Conference will be on Tuesday, Aug. 13, at the University of Minnesota Southwest Research and Outreach Center near Lamberton. Agricultural lenders and farm management and agribusiness professionals throughout southwest Minnesota are encouraged to attend.

Joe Santos, professor of Economics and Dykhouse Scholar of Money, Banking, and Financial Regulation at South Dakota State University, will deliver a keynote address titled Macroeconomic Policy at the Farmgate. Santos will share insights on how recent macroeconomic policies-both implemented and proposed-shape the prices and quantities of credit, employment, and income in rural communities. Robert Craven, UMN Extension economist and director of the Center for Farm Financial Management, will also discuss the factors that differentiate top and bottom producers and the expected costs and returns for 2019 and 2020.

Other presentations will cover emerging financial and profitability trends in the Southwest Minnesota Farm Business Management Association; beginning farmer farm management program fees and credits, and the challenges of crop management for the 2019 growing season. The conference features a tour of current SWROC research and a cookout steak lunch.

The conference begins at 9 a.m. and concludes at 3:30 p.m. Space is limited, so registration is encouraged by Aug. 7 and walk-ins must call ahead. Registration forms can be downloaded at: https://swroc.cfans.umn.edu/ag-lenders-2019. For more information, call the SWROC at 507-752-7372 or email Gretchen Thillen at gthillen@umn.edu.

USDA: Excessive rainfall hits quality of Indiana’s corn crop

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Agricultural officials say this year’s Indiana corn crop is expected to be among lowest quality in three decades following planting delays caused by excessive spring rainfall.

Greg Matli is a statistician with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. He told The Herald-Times that the agency expects Indiana’s 2019 corn to be the fifth-lowest in quality since 1986.

Collins joins two-party push for more local food in schools

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s Republican senator is joining a group of colleagues to beef up federal resources that are dedicated to getting fresh, local foods into schools.

Sen. Susan Collins said it’s a bipartisan effort to make sure students in Maine and elsewhere have access to local foods, and that it will benefit both local farmers and childhood health. She’s working with Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Patrick Leahy of Vermont as well as Republican Sen. David Perdue of Georgia.

Spring wheat, soybean development lags in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Spring wheat and soybean development in South Dakota is lagging behind last year’s pace.

According to the weekly federal crop report, 96 percent of South Dakota’s soybean crop has emerged. That’s near the 100 percent mark from last year and the five-year average. But only 3 percent of soybeans are blooming, which is well behind 27 percent last year and the average of 31 percent.