News

A conversation with K-State professor emeritus in agricultural economics Barry Flinchbaugh, which was among the sessions at the 2018 K-State Cooperative Symposium on the campus earlier this week:  among other things, he offers his insight on the long-term impacts of the current U.S. trade tariff approach, which he says will undoubtedly create inflation in the U.S. economy, and on the likelihood that the 2018 Farm Bill will be passed and signed into law before the end of the calendar year, if not sooner. 

K-State agricultural economist Nathan Hendricks shares the findings from his new study, which looked at USDA crop program subsidies and how they factor into farmland rental payments. He specifically was interested in the extent to which landlords gain from those subsidies, compared to tenants.

K-State agricultural economist Robin Reid talks about a new publication from K-State:  Kansas Agricultural Land Values and Trends, an extensive summary on land values at the state, regional and county levels, based on actual farm and ranch land sales in 2017...this is the first of what will be an annual comprehensive report on where land values stand and the direction in which they are trending.

K-State livestock economists Brian Coffey and Ted Schroeder talk about their new evaluation of the effectiveness of physical delivery of cattle to settle a live cattle futures contract...this in-depth study illustrated the complexity of physical delivery and its function as a risk management tool, and compared it to other alternative means of contract settlement.

K-State risk management specialist Art Barnaby raises several important questions about the just-announced USDA relief program for agricultural producers who have been adversely affected by the imposition of trade tariffs...especially the Market Facilitation Program, which is intended to provide one-time payments to producers of select commodities, including most major grain crops

K-State Extension assistant in agricultural economics Rich Llewelyn looks ahead to the 2018 Risk and Profit Conference at K-State, which will provide participants with cutting-edge information on farm and ranch economics and management, including over 20 breakout sessions where K-State researchers will get into an array of important contemporary topics.

K-State risk management specialist Art Barnaby offers his observations on the commodity title and crop insurance components of the 2018 Farm Bill, with the House and Senate versions now in conference committee...he says that producers should especially be interested in how the compromise version handles the update in crop base acres for program payment purposes.

K-State agricultural economist Ted Schroeder and Elliott Dennis report on their just-released study of the feedlot cattle health management practice called metaphylaxis, or mass medication of cattle at high health risk...they've attached an economic value to that approach, which they hope will become part of the dialogue over the future of metaphylaxis treatments in the cattle industry.