To fight rising inflation, the Federal Open Market Committee started raising interest rates at an aggressive pace in 2022. In this post, we will look at the Federal Reserve’s progress in the fight against inflation. We’ll also discuss what to expect from the Federal Reserve in terms of interest rate policy in 2024.
[Read more…] about High Plains Ag Week 4/3/2024 – Inflation and Interest Rates in 2024
(Courtney Sacco/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)
Producers across the United States are increasingly adopting the Livestock Risk Protection Program, commonly known as the LRP, to protect themselves against falling cattle prices. Today, we will discuss the benefits of adopting this risk management tool in your operation.
Dorper sheep on Friday, Nov 10, 2023 in Sonora, Texas. (Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)
What can producers expect from sheep markets this year? To answer that question, we turn to guest author Dr. Jeffrey Wright. In this post, Jeff walks us through the important characteristics of international sheep markets and how they impact the domestic price of lamb and mutton here in the United States. [Read more…] about High Plains Ag Week 3/19/2024 – Sheep Market Outlook
(Laura McKenzie/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)
Low wheat grain prices in our Texas region have lowered our profitability expectations in our area. Today, we will compare and analyze what may be more convenient: baling our wheat or harvesting it.
[Read more…] about High Plains Ag Week 3/15/2024 – Wheat baling analysis.
Choosing which crop will be most profitable to produce each year can be difficult. For this reason, economists with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension have developed a spreadsheet tool to help producers with this decision. In this post, we will look at how this tool can help producers analyze and compare the profitability of a set of crop enterprises. [Read more…] about High Plains Ag Week 3/7/2024 – Analyzing Profitability Using the South Plains Profitability Spreadsheet
Today’s blog topic has changed, given the sad circumstances of everyone affected by the wildfires in our region. We will discuss some USDA programs available to help during these challenging times. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by these fires, causing unmeasurable losses for many.
[Read more…] about High Plains Ag Week 2/28/2024 – Wildfires
The 2018 Farm Bill has been extended through September 30, 2024. This means that producers may enroll in Title I programs as a part of their risk management plan this year. This post will explain how two of these programs protect farms against price and/or revenue losses. [Read more…] about High Plains Ag Week – 2/22/2024 – ARC-CO & PLC in 2024
Aug. 9, 2022 in College Station, Texas. (Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)
The 2024 crop and livestock budgets will soon be available for all districts on the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Agricultural Economics website. In this post, we look at the numbers in the budgets for cotton production in Districts 1 and 2. [Read more…] about High Plains Ag Week – 1/31/2024 – A Look at the 2024 Cotton Budgets
(Laura McKenzie/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)
Wheat prices in our Texas region have been decreasing month by month, lowering profitability expectations for producers in our area. Today, we will compare and analyze what may be more convenient: wheat grain or grazing.
[Read more…] about High Plains Ag Week 1/24/2024 – Wheat Grain vs. Grazing?
How will input costs change for crop enterprises on the Texas High Plains? Today, we look at three key inputs to crop production and discuss expectations for the price of these inputs this year.
[Read more…] about High Plains Ag Week – 1/18/2024 – Input Costs for 2024